


Getting Some

by ForcedRedacted



Series: FFVII [4]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Hojo is still a slimy toad, OC adopts the SOLDIERS, One beta we still just die, Other, SOLDIERS adopt the OC, Sane Sephiroth (Compilation of FFVII), oh look an isekai
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-21
Packaged: 2021-03-22 05:35:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 37,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30033873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ForcedRedacted/pseuds/ForcedRedacted
Summary: Rewrite ver. 1
Series: FFVII [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1566169
Comments: 5
Kudos: 4





	1. Day 1 (Wednesday)

She remembered... 

It had already been a crazy day before the impossible happened. And it truly had to be impossible, considering one did not simply walk into an apartment that was not their own. Not from the inside of another one at the very least. It had been her birthday, but by technicality only. The date was shared by some people she had called friend through the ages, and some very famous people who she very pointedly did _not_. 

Robin worked at a sub shop, which was to say she made foot long sandwiches for people and very patiently smiled as they hummed and hawed about what colour of cheese they wanted. She had never really considered the merits of one or the other, what with how it was usually barely a noticeable presence whenever she made one for herself. Of course, there was always too much mayonnaise to taste much else, in her case, but she was fine with that. 

Barely a block away, on her way to the bus stop, someone had robbed the Sbubbies she worked at. Gunshots had made her skittish, but then a call from her manager who wanted to know if she had seen anyone on her way out that looked suspicious. No, she told them. She'd left through the back.

She remembered a lot of things. More than she thought she would, really. She remembered... 

She remembered the people who smoked on the bus in the seat ahead of her, the way it clung to her nostrils and threatened to make her sneeze. The way nobody looked at her, with her hood up and her shabby clothes. A carefully constructed image, walking the line between Obviously Female and nondescript. Catcalls made her uncomfortable, so a backpack in her lap helped hide any obvious signs of gender, and if she didn't look like she had anything worthwhile to steal, well... People usually left her alone. There was a kind of safety in that, for someone who couldn't likely fight her way out of a wet paper bag. 

Immediately after she got off the bus, a car hit it. Someone coming out of an alley who had somehow failed to see the massive vehicle with it's ass stuck out. Robin hurried home, already far too aware of the world around her, and waved at one of her roommates as they came down the porch stairs, slipped, and landed heavily on their rump. 

"Wood slippery?" 

"Rolled my ankle." The black haired woman grimaced, before muttering curses under her breath as she inspected the broken heel of her shoe. 

"Gotta be careful." Robin stepped past, minding her footing and making her way into the house. Two cats made a bid for freedom, and both were stopped by the screen door she snapped shut behind her. They seemed determined to trip her afterwards, winding around and between her feet and meowing, begging to be let out. They were ignored beyond the effort to make sure neither were accidentally kicked, stepped on or tripped over. 

From there it was a short trip down the stairs to the basement to shed her coat and put her bag down. A short call on her mobile later had her trudging back upstairs, grumbling about how her favourite pizza shop apparently had a grease fire and was closed for the time being. With her instant noodles in the microwave, she leaned her weight against the counter and sighed, watching her reflection in the glass door more so than the food itself. 

Copper coloured hair, kept short because really, who could afford more than a ration of two in one shampoo and conditioner in this day and age? Freckled, slightly pudgy cheeks and a crooked nose from her fair share of stupid accidents. Rounded shoulders, and a build that spoke of a love of food more than a love of exercise looked back at her, and as the beeping of the microwave drew her out of her thoughts she leaned back and pulled it open to reclaim her bowl of now steaming noodles. A careful weave brought her to the stairs that then led down into the basement, and a turn to the left had her toeing the door to her room open.

A bump with her hip closed it behind her as she surveyed her Domain. 

Desk buried in used mugs that had yet to make the walk of shame upstairs to the dishwasher, laptop, Couch for Things not People. Desk chair, double bed partially buried under the nest of blankets and pillows she would doubtless bury herself in later. The faded green and white patterned carpet that was far fancier than it had any right to be, burgundy painted walls and a cheap plastic desk lamp she used in favour of the ceiling light. Sitting down at the desk, she used a fork to idly stir the noodles somewhat before something thumped outside her door. 

A grimace crossed her features as she ignored it, and then frowned as she heard the unmistakable sound of a shower running. That was... certainly odd, considering the showers were upstairs and on the other side of the building. When the water shut off, she crept to the door, concerned maybe a pipe had sprung a leak and hoping that someone had maybe managed to shut it off. 

Cracking the door open, she peered out and blinked at the very different room that presented itself to her. 

Black walls, a grey ceiling and grey carpeted floor. Sparse, spartan furnishings that were minimalist in design. Furniture she felt she could really _see_ through, because it was all exposed shiny black frames and what looked like uncomfortably thin cushions. A glance back at her room confirmed that it was still there, before she heard a door open a short distance away. 

His face (because it was a he, that much was immediately obvious) was obscured by a long white towel and silver hair that reached past his waist and danced as he dried the roots. It only took two steps past what was likely the threshold of the bathroom for him to realize something was wrong, and as he came to a halt and lowered the towel she closed her door most of the way and tried to hide. 

A listening kind of silence filled the space, and after several seconds Robin peeked around the edge of the door. _He_ was gone. Which meant either he could walk _very_ quietly or hadn't actually been there at all, she thought to herself, and eased the door open a little further to try and get a better view. It was quickly blocked by a forearm that came out and shoved it the rest of the way, the tip of a blade following it as _he_ swung around and narrowed his eyes at her. 

Well, at least he was wearing pants. Going cross-eyed at the sword, she cleared her throat and raised both hands. "Easy there. I'm- I'm just as confused as you. And certainly nowhere near as well armed."

"... A hallucination?" Sephiroth looked past her at that, taking in the room behind her. 

"Only a few ways to test that. Your arm passed through into here and you can clearly touch the door. Got anyone nearby who can say if they see me too? I, uhh... I only had one door and it seems it doesn't go to my house any more. While you do that, I'm going to, I dunno. Pinch myself? Probably eat my food. You're not real so either I've died, fallen asleep and this is a dream, or I'm the one hallucinating." 

Sephiroth slowly lowered the lengthy sword, backing away a few steps. After considering the situation for a moment, he padded out of view and then returned with a clamshell style mobile in his free hand. Tapping a few buttons and glancing down every few seconds at the display, he then folded it shut and tucked it into his pocket. 

Robin tucked back into her room and grabbed her chair and the bowl of noodles, sitting down and wheeling herself over to the threshold to eat and peer through. _He_ seemed to consider that, too, before carefully reversing his grip on his sword and heading to the distant kitchenette so that he could make a cup of what smelled like coffee. On his way back, he hooked a chair with his ankle and dragged it over, sitting opposite of her and laying Masamune across his lap. 

Silence reigned once more, broken only by the quiet slurp of noodles or a near non-existent sip of coffee until Robin broke it. 

"So, I gotta ask. I know I'm probably going to just sleep the whole thing off, but what are you going to do if this turns out to be not-real?"

He seemed to consider her words for a moment from behind his black, featureless mug, before he lowered it. "There are a series of tests to determine the signs of a stroke or other neurological issues."

"Got it." She nodded, and finished the chicken broth in the bottom of the bowl only to pause after lowering it. "... You're taking all this really well. What if this is real?"

Sephiroth's eyes narrowed slightly as the corners of his lips ticked upwards. "An in depth study to determine how your abode can fit within the external wall of the building. You also seem to be relatively calm." 

"I'm pretty sure this is just an overactive imagination and a dream, and it's pretty interesting too. There wasn't a door there? I thought because my door led out, maybe it would've been one of your doors leading in." Robin twisted to set the bowl down on her desk, turning back as a door opened somewhere in Sephiroth's side of the doorway. "Uhh...?"

"Genesis." Turning to look over his shoulder, he nodded in greeting and tracked the arrival of the red-clad swordsman. "Have you noticed anything unusual?"

"Infinite in mystery is the gift of the goddess." Leaning in and sounding baffled, Genesis peered at Robin through the doorway, lifting a hand to return her wave. Stepping to the side as he approached, she heard a window open and then a knocking sound nearby. 

"Alright. So either _both_ of you are hallucinating the same thing, Sephiroth is having one big hallucination and you're not really there either, or _I'm_ the one seeing and hearing things. Can... I don't suppose I can come in, can I?" 

"You... Know my name." The Silver General pushed himself to his feet, moving to set his sword back in the stand against one of the walls. 

"You're a prime example of why Hojo is an asshole and that it's important to _sleep_ and not listen to strange voices in your head. You go off and try and kill everything in the world so that you can ride the planet like a comet looking... For... What." Stepping into the living room, Robin blinked as both Soldiers stared at her, each other and then at the door behind her. "I mean, yeah, I didn't expect to actually be able to get through either, I thought I'd walk into a wall or something and then wake up, but-"

"The door." Genesis padded closer, reaching out to prod her in the shoulder and then carefully turn her around to face the blank wall. "It's gone."

A quiet wheeze escaped Robin as she stepped forward and placed both palms against the wall. A few halfhearted pushes against it confirmed the fact that it was solid. The next step was knocking on the black painted surface, which did nothing except make her knuckles hurt. 

* * *

"Okay. Okay okay okay." Robin was seated on the couch after a solid half hour of panicking mixed with pacing. Genesis had eventually rolled his eyes and physically steered her to the couch as Sephiroth went and made some tea. When it was set in front of her and left untouched, the red-clad swordsman sat down next to her and picked it up, wrapping her hands around it manually. "Dream, probably. Definitely. I'm pretty sure if I was hallucinating one of my roommates would have heard me talking to myself and yelled complaints at me for being loud."

"Have you ever had a lucid dream before?" Stretching out his legs, Genesis propped his heels up on the steel and glass table. When Sephiroth leveled a light glare at him, he rolled his eyes once more and then put his feet back down. "Don't give me that, until you have a better way to convince her that we're real the best option is process of elimination." 

"Look if you guys are real then that means that what happens is real and that's just... Horrible. And _impossible_ , since it's across three? Four games? And at least one movie and several animated shorts." Robin crinkled her nose as she lifted her tea, taking a small sip. 

"About that." The Silver General idly drummed his fingers against the arm of the chair he sat in. "Elaborate. This is twice you have alluded to something terrible." 

"If we don't exist, then there shouldn't be any harm in telling us, right?" Genesis stretched and partially turned to lounge in the corner of the couch beside her. "There would _be_ no timeline to disrupt."

"Alright. Well, where... Where do I -start-." Groaning, she set her mug down and reached up to run her fingers through her hair. 

"Start with me." The grin from her right had her rolling her eyes. 

"Sure. Just... If you're not real I guess you can't exactly stab me and _actually_ hurt me, now can you. You get hurt in a sparring match with Sephiroth and Angeal, and it makes you start turning grey because your cellular structure just... Degrades." 

"Who wins?" Genesis leaned in, only to lean back as she flapped a hand at him. 

"Nobody? You get hurt and the training room hologram thing breaks, and then you leave. And then -really- leave, defecting because Hollander lies to you and says he can fix you. You take a bunch of Seconds and Thirds with you." Settling her hands in her lap, Robin grimaced and then glanced to the side when movement caught her attention. "... It gets fixed later, but I don't really know how. Zack beats the shit out of you and leaves you outside a cave before going and talking to Minerva? Last thing anyone knows about you is that you're sitting on a hill somewhere when a helicopter comes for you, and then years later after one of the Weapons of the planet gets blown up in the stratosphere you end up appearing with your wing still there."

"Wing? I don't have a wing." 

"And I... Ride the planet like a comet?" One silver eyebrow arched upwards as she looked towards Sephiroth and shrugged. 

"You go crazy because of an ancient genetic parasite Hojo has stored in the Nibelheim reactor and a lot of allegedly very confusing information that you learn while exhausted and stressed because your friends all deserted or died."

He leaned back at that, expression carefully blank as Robin waved her hands. 

"A lot of people don't think it's entirely your fault. You've been basically raised as a lab experiment, and it's thought that you get fed some pretty damaging information before Genesis... I don't remember exactly what it is you say to him outside the reactor, but it's something painful. Sephiroth goes in then, sees a bunch of pods with people-experiments in them, starts questioning his humanity and then starts thinking the corpse the parasite's in is his mom." Setting her hands back in her lap, she shrugged. "This is, 'course, after he turns away food or drink and refuses to sleep as he keeps reading through the information on hand. Since normal people start hallucinating really badly at the seventy two hour mark, the fact that it goes on for like, a week I think? It's a pretty clear indicator that he's not in his right mind when he goes into the reactor for the last time."

"The last time?" The words are a quiet question from Sephiroth as he watched her, pupils constricting. Her answering smile was an uncomfortable one. 

"Well, yeah. You start talking about riding the planet through the cosmos just like the parasite did. You lose your marbles, and Cloud and Zack, being the only two there with any sort of strength, try and stop you. You get run through and then fall into the mako below. That's just the start though, it gets _way_ worse than that." 

One of his hands came up to cover the lower half of his face as he leaned slightly to the side, a quiet, conversational hum escaping him. "... Worse." 

"Yeah. As in, you put your crazy mind into the bodies of clones Hojo's made of you out of the rest of the Soldiers and then try and end the world worse. Anyone, ah... Quick question though. Anyone here believe in ghosts?" Robin cleared her throat clasping her hands in her lap. Sephiroth gave her no answer, and a glance towards Genesis revealed his bewildered expression. 

"Why? Do they show up in the story?" The red-clad swordsman leaned to rest his elbows on his knees before following her nod towards the corner of the room. 

"Not any part that involves any of you that I can think of, but I'm pretty sure hooded cloaks don't just. Float like that."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rewrite ver. 1


	2. Day 1 & 2

It turned out that Genesis could see it, though she didn't believe him right off the bat. Sephiroth stared blankly at the corner for a moment before getting up and going to fetch some paper from his desk along with a pair of pens and told them to try and sketch it. They eyed each other, before taking half of the paper and a pen apiece, turning away to start working on his request. 

Robin kept glancing up at he corner periodically as she worked before clearing her throat and looking around. "It's gone, and I'm done." 

"As am I. Although _why_ I need to prove anything to you is a mystery indeed." The red-clad swordsman set his sketch down on the table, before blinking and laughing as she tucked hers next to it. "You draw like a little kid!" 

"Look, I didn't major in _theater dramatics_ or _art_ okay?" Grimacing, she leaned to peer at his and whistled lowly. "... Alright, you win, you're much better at this than me. But yeah, that's what it looked like. How'd you get the shading right?" 

"Lighter strokes with the pen instead of just relying on crosshatching like you did."

"Both of you could see this." Sephiroth reached forward to twitch both pieces of paper around, leaning to study them. "An empty, hooded cloak." 

"That was just floating there, yeah. It was grey." She reached up to scritch at the side of her face before clearing her throat. "So... Quick question. Your curtains are closed but I'm pretty sure that's a clock on a microwave over there. Any ideas on how to make the door reappear? I'd like to go back home and sleep. Which is going to translate to wake up, I think." 

Genisis glanced over to check the time before sighing and hauling himself to his feet. "None. What will you do if you try and sleep and wake up here again?" 

"-Really panic-. The only other way out of a dream that I know if is to get killed." Robin reached for her picture so that she could pick it up, rubbing her face with her free hand. "I don't... remember seeing anything like this in the games except for the boss of the Gi tribe. Even then, he had arms." 

"Genesis." Sephiroth glanced over at the other Soldier and then tipped his head towards their 'guest' and received a roll of eyes in return. 

"I'm going to be late for work anyways, I might as well."

"Might as well what?" Robin looked up from the paper as the Silver General pushed himself up and started to head towards one of the doors. 

"There's nothing strange about _me_ spending time in the company of strangers should anyone be watching. He isn't likely to sleep for the next several hours, which means I head back to my rooms and get some shut eye. After I wake up, I'll come and get you while he heads off to do dreary office work and we figure something out." Turning and heading towards the far door, Genesis shrugged and stretched before stifling a yawn. 

"You sound like you think I'll still be here." 

"Should you prove to be real, as opposed to a hallucination, then to us you will be as real as our world." Emerging from the room he had ducked into with a pillow and a blanket, Sephiroth padded back to the couch and offered both out. "This means we will need to find a way to justify your presence to any onlookers. Your knowledge, if it proves true as well, will be invaluable." 

"Yeah but... None of this is _real_." Robin gave them both amused looks as she accepted the pillow and blanket both.

"Perhaps not, however if I am to start hearing voices and obeying them, at least you seem disinclined to tell me to start riding the planet like a comet through the cosmos." 

* * *

It felt as though she had only just closed her eyes before she was groggily opening them and blinking. Her garbled, sub vocal sound of confusion was answered by Genesis from a few feet away. 

"Go back to sleep. Everyone takes this time to travel to and from work, and we don't want to get caught." 

Robin hummed a note of agreement as she pulled the scratchy blanket further up to bury her face in it. It smelled clean, a contrast to the coffee and notes of something unidentifiable and she found herself reminded of the blankets her grandparents had always kept on their beds. And then, reminded of _who had handed this one to her_. Sucking in a breath, she scrambled upright and snapped her gaze to where the red-clad swordsman was lounging in a chair, cleaning his sword with a cloth and a small bottle of oil. At his quirked brow, she looked around frantically and then slowly slumped back down. 

"Dream. This is... Just more of the same dream. Just a... Very _long_ , lucid dream." 

"The wandering soul knows no rest..." Amusement played across his face as he capped the bottle of oil and tucked it into a small case. 

"You really _do_ quote Loveless at every opportunity, don't you." Reaching up with both hands, she scrubbed at her face to rid her self of the last vestiges of sleep, grumbling. 

"It's only the _best_ theater production to come out of Midgar Musical." 

"Never seen it, but I know it's still popular when the Revenants summon Ba-" Squinting, Robin lowered her hands and hunched her shoulders. "... Looks like this is going to continue for a while, doesn't it." 

"You've never _seen_ -? How can you allude to the knowledge of the end of the world, and yet -never- watch a single production of Loveless?" Folding the cleaning cloth and tucking it away into the case with the oil, Genesis scoffed and pushed himself to his feet so that he could slide the sword into the holster at his back. "Prepare yourself. After we finish getting supplies for you and discussing how might repay me, I'm taking you to the theater." 

"Su..." She grimaced, weaving her fingers together and then twiddling her thumbs. "Yeah I don't suppose my debit card is going to work in a world where my bank doesn't even exist. Oh! I've got my walle... That... Yeah. It's gil here, not dollars isn't it." 

"You mean this?" The red-clad swordsman fished through a pocket, producing the cheap yellow and green change purse with it's partially broken zipper. He dangled it for a moment by a corner, nose wrinkling as if the badly patterned frog eyes that stared blankly out from it offended him. 

Robin opened her mouth, affronted before reconsidering and offering him a tentative smile. "You know what, all I want out of that is my license. Just... It's proof that I'm me, alright?" 

"I suppose you have a point." It was lobbed in a gentle arc that she fumbled to catch, before starting to work the broken zipper the rest of the way open. "It kept spilling coins onto the couch and floor. You're a really restless sleeper, it seems." 

"I didn't expect to have to forewarn you about something that should have just... Let me wake up in my own bed." Extracting the card, she patted her pockets to try and find her phone before narrowing her eyes and looking towards Genesis. "... Did you happen to also grab my phone while you were looting my unconscious body? Rectangular device, glass screen, green and black case with a red pocket on the back that should have had a green card in it?" 

He blinked at her, one brow raising as he looked thoughtful. "Sephiroth has it."

"I hope he doesn't brick it. I kinda... Need that. Though now I'm curious about whether or not it works on any sort of wireless network here. Do you have sim cards?" Wrinkling her nose, Robin pushed herself to her feet and tucked her license into a pocket. "... Suppose that wont matter if I can't find a way to charge it. You, uhh... I remember you mentioning something about being late to work today. Won't you get in trouble?"

"The arrow has left-"

"-the bow of the goddess. What's done is done, is what you're saying." He looked surprised that she had cut him off, but any sting of such was smothered by the amusement on his face as she finished his quote. 

"Technically I report to Sephiroth anyways. Come. It's still the tail end of when people would still report in for work, but I'm something of an expert when it comes to ditching work unseen."

* * *

The first stop they made was at a kiosk in a mall that sold backpacks and travel suitcases. She went with a dark, desaturated green for both, and from there Genesis tried to lead her to a tailor. They went back and forth for a few minutes as she mentioned that the less she stood out, the better, and also the fact that cheaper clothes would not only fulfill that, but also cost less. 

He reluctantly agreed that she had a point, but also made it clear he wouldn't be caught dead in such a cheap store as _Bardinez_. She had laughed at that, admitting that she agreed he'd be particularly out of place before agreeing to make sure she came out with receipts if he lent her his card. She ended up coming out of a thrift store with a hooded zip up sweater the same colour as her luggage, a black coat that was big enough to fit over it and a few shirts and pairs of pants. When they came to a lingerie store he wordlessly handed her his credit card once more and then went over to wait at one of the benches. 

By the time Robin came out, a small crowd had gathered around him as he took pictures with people and signed autographs, smirking. He didn't so much as glance at her as he started to sweep away, inviting them to follow him, and she tried to puzzle out why before some advertising let out a quiet, if insistent ' _psssst_ '. A glance over and two second internal debate on the merits of flight versus plausible deniability and she found herself smiling at a black-haired Soldier 2nd as he waved her over. 

"Genesis called for backup, and I'm _technically_ on errand running duty. So you're Robin?"

"And you're Zack. I think we've just about got everything except for some sundries such as toothpaste or deodorant." His smile was infectious, and she found herself grinning as he looped an arm around her shoulders and took the wheeled luggage, pulling it along as they headed in the opposite direction that the red-clad swordsman had taken. "Is he going to swing back around, or...?"

"I can pick those up for you from the supply depot, I'm always losing mine and I need to get a new toothbrush anyways. They're probably going to follow him right to Shinra's doorstep. Don't worry, I'll smuggle you back in! There's a _really_ climbable part of the wall." He beamed at her as she grimaced. "Aw, you don't know you can't make it until you try!"

"Ah, actually I do know. I'm what you would call 'unlucky', not that, y'know, being out of shape isn't a factor too. With my luck I'll get to the top and then fall off and break my leg or something. Or an arm." 

"Don't worry. I'll help you." He jostled her as they exited the mall, before leading her to a side street and then pausing to look at her sheepishly. "I know how this looks, but I promise-"

"I know, you're not plotting anything. You've got a good heart, Zack Fair." Reaching to thump the back of her hand against his chest, Robin nodded into the dimly lit alley. "Well? Lead on. I don't know my way around these parts after all."

"Right! So is it true? The General pulled some of us into his office today and told us that you're a high priority protection case, but also that there's a lot of people who would be after you if we drew too much attention to you. Are you an ex-spy from Wutai?" Turning to walk backwards, Zack peered at her curiously and she stifled a snicker at the way his eyes acted as a pair of faintly glowing beacons in the dark. 

"No, I've never been to Wutai. I hear it's pretty though." Sticking close, she glanced at one of the cracked pipes and the motes of green that drifted up and out of it. "Speaking of places, is it true that people from Gongaga cook everything with the spiciest peppers in the world?" 

"Hah! Not when we've got company over! Though I'm surprised, I didn't think anyone had even heard of the place." He spun mid-step and fell back a little to walk beside her, a vague silhouette in the dim light. "This way." 

"I also heard it's in the middle of a jungle, and that there's two types of biting flying bugs. The ones small enough to fit through the screen mesh, and the ones big enough to knock on the door and ask you out for supper." Her words drew an easy laugh as they stepped out onto a side road. 

"Oh man, I do _not_ miss those. I had to sleep with a mesh over my bed as a kid because they kept trying to eat me alive." The creak of leather drew her attention up, only to realize that he had folded his hands behind his head, the wheeled luggage hanging down behind him. "So if you're not an informant, why are you so important?" 

"That's a good question Zack. But if I told just anyone, then I'd probably in in a _lot_ of trouble. I trust you, I really do, but until the situation sorts a bit and I get some type of stability, then... You're giving me the puppy dog eyes aren't you. You know, that doesn't quite work when they glow like that, right?" Robin elbowed him lightly, drawing another easy laugh. "Besides, you wouldn't believe me."

"You don't know that for sure. Come on, just a little bit?" 

"Alright, a hint then." She paused for a moment to think about it, and he slowed to a stop a foot or so away and turned to peer at her curiously. "Hmm. Heh. Where I am now, and where I was yesterday at the same time, are _worlds_ apart."


	3. Day 2

Zack gave her a very serious look and quietly shushed her, indicating she should be as quiet as she could be as they made their way around the cubicles that filled the middle of the office floor. Most of them were empty, but the ones that weren't were occupied by people who were clearly Soldiers if the glowing eyes were any indication. All of them were staring at a closed office door with Sephiroth's name on it, beyond one or two glances towards the 2nd that escorted Robin while delivering trays of coffee. 

As they drew closer (and Zack hefted the final tray) she realized why everyone was so intent on the door. Even she could hear Genesis borderline shouting, though it was too muffled even when she leaned in to make anything out. Knowing they had better hearing than her, Robin stepped carefully away and then gave Zack a quizzical look. He gestured to her, and understood then that whatever Genesis was arguing about had to do with her.

The red-clad swordsman's voice cut off abruptly, and as one everyone silently scrambled back to work, trying to at natural. The Soldier 2nd escorting her pulled her back a few feet, and then nudged her ahead a step as the door opened. Angeal stared out, expression stern as Zack bound up to the door and held out the tray. 

"Hey! I got your orders. Three Soldier Specials." 

"Well done. Stand guard. Miss Aicisli, join us please." The black haired 1st reached out to relieve Zack of the coffee tray as he saluted, before ushering her in and closing the door behind her. Sephiroth sat at the chair behind the desk, rubbing his temples as Genesis scowled and lounged in one of the two free chairs. "Take a seat."

"Thhhanks?" Drawing out the word, she wheeled the luggage in behind the chair and shrugged off her backpack, digging out the red-clad 1st's credit card and handing it over. Sitting down, she folded her hands in her lap and cleared her throat. "Why do I feel like I'm in trouble?"

" _You_ aren't. _Sephiroth_ took your phone to get it identified and the -Turks- caught wind of it. A piece of unidentified technology, with a screen reactive to touch? If it Angeal hadn't retrieved it while we ran interference, we wouldn't have gotten it back at all." 

"I admit, it was... Close." The silver haired swordsman shook his head, still rubbing his temples. "My contact confirmed that it was technology unlike anything Shinra possesses." 

"I'm sorry, you said 'was'? Was as in past tense? As in Shinra now has that technology?" Robin frowned, drumming her fingers on her knees as the black-haired 1st sighed behind her. 

"I dropped it, and the screen seems to have cracked. I'm sorry." 

"This wouldn't have happened if _someone_ -" Genesis scowled as she flapped her hand at him, smiling slightly. 

"It might be alright. It's got a tempered glass screen, so maybe that's the layer that cracked and not the phone's screen itself. Let me see it?" 

Silence reigned in the room, three sets of glowing eyes focused on her before Sephiroth straightened and lifted some paperwork to reveal her phone. Delicately, he pushed it towards her, and she picked it up and started working the protective case off of it. Setting the pieces aside, she turned the phone face up and deftly peeled off the utterly shattered screen protector, grinning as it revealed an intact screen below. "Tada~."

"A ruse?" The red-clad swordsman leaned over, watching as she laid the fractured tempered glass shield aside, reaching to put the case back on. 

"Not as much, no. Where I'm from, we tend to drop our phones a lot, and it's just an extra layer. They used to be plastic but those just protect against scratches or finger prints." Pressing the power button against the side, she smiled as the screen lit up. A deft tap of her code and it unlocked, and she set it down on the desk. "I've only got about thirty percent of the battery left, so unless you guys have a different way to charge it, this is your one chance to look through it." 

Genesis wasted no time, picking it up and swiping his thumb along the glass, tapping gently and starting to scowl once more as nothing happened. 

"You, uhh... Touch screens need skin contact, or special types of material that are the right kind of conductive. You'll have to take your glove off." Leaning back in the chair, she glanced around and then cleared her throat. "This... The Turks don't have this room bugged, do they?" 

"They have yet to produce anything that doesn't produce an irritating whine or hum." Sephiroth leaned slightly, trying to see what the red-headed 1st was doing as he peeled off his glove and aha'd. 

"A 'to do' list? Taxes, dishes and laundry..."

"At the bottom there's three symbols, a triangle pointing to the left, a circle and a square. The triangle takes you 'back'. Do I even have service here?" Pushing herself up, Robin moved to peer at the screen as a wry smile crossed her face. "Guess not. Up there in the top right." 

"The battery symbol and the bars for signal that are all grey with a red line through them." Genesis tilted it so she could see better, and she nodded. "Your time is wrong, it's set a few hours behind." 

"Well, I mean I'd just gotten home from work and made something to eat before ending up... Well, ending up here." 

"Miss Aicisli. Please, sit down." Sephiroth leaned back in his chair, sighing quietly. "Given the nature of your unexpected appearance and the reasonable expectation that you will be trapped here for the foreseeable future, I would like to formally extend to you a few options. One, join Shinra and work in the Soldier branch as an unenhanced technician, relay the information you have that is pertinent to our futures and attempt to find a way back with our aid when we can offer it. Two, relay the information you have that is pertinent to our futures, accept a stipend for services rendered and leave Midgar, and search for a way back on your own. I am certain you understand that option two is for your safety."

"I don't think leaving Midgar is going to make me any safer, honestly. If the Turks get any ideas about what I might know, it won't matter where on Gaia I run to. But, it would get me a bit farther away from Hojo in the mean time." Robin frowned, lifting a hand to start chewing on her thumbnail. "Working with Soldier probably wouldn't actually give me benefits, because I don't know if I'm the same on the inside as a human here and I _definitely_ don't want to risk your dad if I get a blood test and something weird shows up. Though... I vaguely remember something about similar blood types in this world..."

"If any of your information is accurate here, I don't know that you would need to." Genesis leaned in and set the phone down in front of her. "Though, I'm curious. How did you get a picture of yourself with your current attire on your phone when you didn't have it?"

"I-... What?" She twisted, starting at the red-clad swordsman before looking down at the phone. Her own face looked back up at her with a blank expression. Beside it, extending out to the right, a series of statistics were lined up. "Attack, defense, magic..." 

"Not a single double digit beyond luck. Are these rated one to ten?" Genesis slid his finger along the screen, scrolling to view more as she let out a laugh. 

"If I had to wager a guess, I'd say probably not. Wait, luck?" Waving his hand away, Robin scrolled up and down until she found what she was looking for. "Why doesn't this one have a value?"

He shrugged. "It's your mobile, not mine. Isn't this a program you're familiar with?" 

"Infinite in mystery is the gift of the goddess~." She intoned as she looked down at the phone and then over at the red-clad swordsman. He looked surprised, before shaking his head and covering his face with a hand. "Honestly I've never seen it before. How did you open this?" 

"There was a picture of a summoning materia, so I tapped it." He reached to prod the triangle, and then pointed at the red sphere icon on the home page. Robin tapped it and blinked as it brought up the page they had just left. 

"Regardless, the question remains." Sephiroth leaned forward, folding his arms on the edge of the table and tilting his head as he watched the two of them. They both shared a glance, before putting the phone down as she smiled sheepishly. "I can understand that you might need some time to think it over. Either way, it is of the utmost importance that you share with us what you know. Just understand that Soldier is neither the Turks nor the R&D division." 

"Which is your way of saying that you're not going to torture or experiment on me to try and get the information, right?" She straightened as he nodded slightly, before she blew out a sigh. "Honestly, the safest place for me is probably _with_ Soldier, right?" 

"That... Is true in some ways, but not in others. Soldiers 3rd and up are all enhanced, even if only marginally." Angeal sipped his coffee, before passing the tray to Genesis. The red-clad swordsman muttered inaudibly and took one for himself, before sliding the tray with the last one over to Sephiroth as the Silver General sighed. 

"It was determined that it would be too dangerous for a female to work within the Soldier division. The enhancements cause certain... Aggressive behaviors to surface." The silver-haired swordsman worked his coffee out of the tray and leaned back in his chair once more. "The enhancements also hold a one hundred percent mortality rate when used on a female, so it isn't simply a matter of finding a way to enroll you and giving them to you to give you a fighting chance." 

The room was silent for a moment as all three Soldier 1sts shifted uncomfortably. Robin scrunched up her face, before very quietly muttering an _oh_ , and reaching for her phone. Pressing and holding the power on the side, she watched as it shut down. "I, ah... Yeah. I think I see. I never really, uhh... Considered myself pretty enough to draw that sort of attention, so that didn't even cross my mind. I don't think that changes too much though, beyond maybe a teensy request to have my own office or work from 'home', wherever that might end up being." 

"You still want to be attached to Soldier? Even after hearing that?" Genesis idly played with the lid of his coffee, twisting it from side to side and ever so slightly popping one edge up only to push it back down. She shrugged in response and tucked her mobile away into a pocket. "You realize that it would be a risk for us as well. Once people find out there is a female working with Soldier, there might be a general outcry."

"Which is why you don't mark me down as a girl." 

"As much as I agree that it would be best to officially have you on paper as male, you don't..." Angeal trailed off, frowning and shifting uncomfortably once more. 

"Boobs. You have _breasts,_ is what he's trying to say. You don't look like a boy." The red-clad swordsman rolled his eyes. "Unless you lose a lot of weight over the next few days, the chances that you suddenly stop looking like a girl are slim to none."

"Genesis." Sephiroth's eyes narrowed at the red-headed 1st, who raised one hand and scoffed. 

"Neither of you have the balls to say it."

"It doesn't change the fact that my options are some sembance of protection with the Soldiers around, versus being on my own. Either way I'll be looking over my shoulder for Turks. Only one of these options gives me a way to survive them. I'm pretty sure they disappear people into Hojo's clutches, as a sort've neat and tidy permanent person disappearing act. And then he shunts them down to Deepground." Gesturing to the three of them, Robin then pointed towards the door to the office. "It's going to take years for me to be anywhere near the shape I would need to be in to physically pass for a boy and I know for a fact I don't have the voice for it. But if -if- we're playing the long game here, then I'll probably be here for a while. Barring a random magical door appearing that can take me back home. If you can get me some materia, I _might_ be able to defend myself well enough to buy one of you enough time to get whatever Soldier is trying to jump me away from me, if one ever does in the first place." 

"Great. That's settled then." Genesis clapped his hands together, coffee balanced on the arm of his chair. "But now there's just one very difficult question left to answer."

"Two. The first would be where will we house you." Sephiroth sorted through a pile of paperwork before selecting a few sheets and sliding them towards her. "Fill these out as best you can. I will use the information you provide for your record of employment."

"The second..." Angeal stepped around the chair, frowning at Robin as he glanced up to follow the movement. "... We need to find a secure location to discuss the information you have for us. An office with a dozen seconds attempting to eavesdrop outside isn't ideal."

"I may have an idea about that, actually." The silver-haired swordsman leaned back in his chair, the ghost of a smile playing about his lips. 

* * *

"We Soldier 1sts have our own apartments, located on the same floor with a common area open between them. You saw it, when we left this morning and took the stairs." Genesis walked beside her as she followed Sephiroth. Angeal followed a few paces behind her, carrying her wheeled luggage and keeping an eye out as the red-clad swordsman continued. "Each Soldier floor has it's own training room, lounge, and mess hall. We passed the pool earlier."

"No gym? I would have thoughts you guys would, I don't know. Lift weights in your spare time."

"No, but there is a reinforced room for materia practice. The weights we would need to lift are more than heavy enough to fall through the floor on their own. Those are in a warehouse just outside of Midgar." He grinned at her, before glancing towards the silver-haired swordsman and leaning in to whisper. "We each have our own apartments because some people are a little territorial with their _things_."

"I can hear you, you know." Sephiroth didn't bother to look back at them, though it sounded like he was smirking. "I'm not the one who gets touchy when anyone so much as breaths on his book collection. Anyone can agree that putting your feet up on furniture not designed for such is wrong."

"If it was boots I wore outside and tracked mud around with, it would be wrong." Genesis made a face before Robin nudged him. 

"Do all the other ranks of Soldier get their own apartment too?"

"The 2nds are all paired up, and the 3rds are four to a suite. Their floors are similar to ours, though the 3rds I believe have a weight room." Rhapsodos looked back to Angeal for confirmation, and the black-haired 1st nodded. 

"It helps with their mental stability, to be able to track their own physical growth. Their enhancements aren't strong enough at that stage to make it a moot point. They're four to a room, while the 2nds are two to a room. This cuts down arguments and damages if they do end up fighting."

"Hearing is usually the first sense that improves. Because of this, most of the private quarters are soundproofed. However, in the event of an emergency or a fire drill, the door that leads to the common area is only _mostly_ soundproofed. Enough to prevent casual eavesdropping, but not enough to block the sound of an alarm. Something perhaps useful, if you ever need to get the attention of the Soldiers on that particular floor. There are fire alarms that can be pulled near both elevators and the stairs." Sephiroth pointed to the pull alarm next to the elevator they passed, heading for the stairs. 

"So I have to ask. Where... Am I staying for the night? Is Zack paired with anyone at the moment? I know he's trustworthy." Robin noted what the alarm looked like, lagging behind a moment before hurrying to catch up. 

"That was my original idea, but I decided against it after looking into several other factors. Zack's current roommate still shows signs of increased aggression and hostility. I would like nothing more than to pair you with him, but he is needed where he is for the time being." Sephiroth swiped his key card and then pushed the door to the stairwell open as it buzzed. "I also thought of opening one of the other apartments set aside for future 1sts. Not only does it keep you on the same floor as us, but they are physically reinforced and more difficult to break into." 

"What... Hoof, stairs. What would be the complications involved with that?"

"One, I have yet to have the time to check it for any Turk related surveillance equipment. Two, it is unfurnished." The Silver General paused at the landing for the next floor up, quirking a brow. "... I forget sometimes, that the unenhanced grow tired more easily than we do."

"Well, I'm out of shape too." She leaned against the railing, taking a moment to catch her breath as Genesis scoffed. 

"You should have seen her this morning. I've never seen anyone get tired going _down_ a flight of stairs."

"It's thirty floors! Up a side tower of _Shinra Tower_!" Determined to keep going, Robin turned away from the railing and resumed climbing.

"If you think this is bad, be thankful this isn't the main building. We have a pair of stairwells but they have stairs all over the place, and sometimes that's the only way to get from floor to floor." The red-clad swordsman grimaced before pushing himself back to his feet to follow. "Another reason to avoid the elevator, I suppose."

"If nothing else I'll have the legs of a Soldier by the end of the week, at fifteen flights of stairs twice a day. Wait, another reason? What's the first one." 

"I believe the Turks have managed to hack into the cameras. I cannot legally confirm nor deny that the surveillance equipment in this particular stairwell is faulty or damaged at any given time. Only that there is a rotating staff of Soldier 3rds who keep an eye on it for security purposes." Sephiroth fell back to keep pace beside her, watching as she used the railing in an effort to reduce the strain on her legs. "... We are almost there."

"Right, that's what the big twenty three painted on the wall means. That it's the next floor, obviously." 

"Are you always this sassy?" Genesis audibly rolled his eyes before pulling up short as she stopped and spun to face him, one hand on her chest. 

"My friend, do you fly away now?" Robin intoned as he raised both eyebrows and reached out to prod her in the forehead, pushing between her and the silver-haired swordsman as he fired off his retort 

"All that awaits you is a somber morrow." 

"The fates are cruel. Cruel I say!" Rubbing her forehead, she sighed and resumed her trek up the stairs as Sephiroth rubbed his temples. 

"Acts three and four. Regardless, if you would accept them, one of the suites on our floor can be yours until we find a better solution. Angeal and I will walk the rooms and search them before you enter."

"Thanks. Sleeping on the floor won't be... Whew. Won't be an issue. What floor are we on now?" Pausing by the railing, Robin looked around and then groaned as Angeal patted her on the shoulder and answered her question.

"Twenty four. Only six more to go."

* * *

She learned that , technically, each Soldier floor was three floors put together. This was to allow for the larger dimensions of the training rooms, and each apartment had a second floor that filled the space above their living quarters. They were for personal practice spaces, regardless of what the person was practicing. Sephiroth had made it mandatory after destroying a series of ceiling lights when trying to work through some of his forms using the overly long katana he favoured. She admitted it would probably come in handy if or when they smuggled her some materia to practice with. 

Sephiroth and Angeal stepped through the door marked 'V', which she took to be the numeral for five, and Robin took the opportunity to stretch out on the floor and catch her breath. With how her legs burned, she was surprised she hadn't collapsed earlier and yawned widely as Genesis sat down next to her 

"I've had... Enough of stairs today I think." 

"You bought a towel?" He nodded towards the wheeled luggage, and she nodded. "Soak it in hot water and wrap your legs in it. The heat will help."

"Thanks. So, uh..." Propping herself up on her elbows, Robin glanced over and then looked to the doors marked IV and VI. "There's only rooms for six 1sts?"

"Turns out there's limits to how much someone can improve. We started losing 2nds as they tried to transition to 1sts, because their bodies couldn't take it. Those that didn't die didn't get the same level of strength, and remain as 2nds."

She nodded, before looking up at the ceiling and wriggling her nose. "Zack's going to survive it, you know. He makes it to 1st, after you and Angeal defect. Just a matter of time before he gets room four. Though, now I've got to ask. If the Turks did bug the empty rooms, won't clearing them out of mine make them suspicious?"

"Not if we clear them out of the other two as well. This is, of course, assuming they managed to in the first place. About the defection. You said that Hollander lies to me, and says he can cure me. Cure me of what, exactly. The injury I sustain, does it get infected?" Genesis leaned in slightly, resting his elbows on his knees as she sat up and reached out. His eyes followed her hand as it settled on his shoulder. 

"The sword Angeal blocks with gets sheared through by your own blade, and the top half spins and gets you along here. I don't know about _infected_ per say, but you get something called 'degradation' because of it. It's where you start turning grey, losing all of your colour. Even your coat, though I don't know how that part actually happens. Its something to do with your genetic code, and how it gets destabilized. Like your body tried to heal, and got confused and started trying to un-heal instead. You start slowly dying." Settling back, she frowned pulled her backpack against her side. "I wish I knew how that gets fixed, but I only played through once." 

"So it's... A game then. The medium through which you learned what you know." He tilted his head, looking thoughtful and then gesturing towards her pocket. "The application on your phone. Is it similar?"

"I don't know yet. I need to find a way to recharge the battery before I start going through it and trying to figure out what all is there. I took a look at chargers for mobiles this morning, and you all use the old pin style. The only person who isn't affiliated with Hojo that I can think of who might be able to help would be a man called Reeve Tuesti. He's a good man, and knows his way around technology." Digging her phone out,, she plopped it on her lap and frowned down at it.

"The man who designed the reactors. Do you trust him with it? Your mobile, that is." 

"I don't know if I want to give him that much yet, but I wonder... I could take the battery out. He might be able to find a way to charge just that piece, and I'm not worried about him duplicating that kind of technology at this point. He'd probably already has better." Robin started to work the case off, setting it aside before digging her nail into the tiny notch along the back of her phone. Popping it upwards, she carefully removed the back and then pulled out the battery. "The question is how do I get in touch with him."

"You don't. The Turks have him under constant surveillance because of his apparent morals. Give it here. I'll figure out something." Holding out his hand, Genesis gestured towards the battery. She blinked, before handing it over and frowning. 

"Are you sure? You've already done a ton, and you're more prone to attracting attention." 

"According to you I'm subtle enough to hide a small force of defectors from Shinra. This will be easy." He hefted it for a moment, looking it over and tucking it away into his coat with a shrug. "Even if the morrow is barren of promises, nothing will forestall my return."

"Thanks. I appreciate it."

The door they sat by opened, and Sephiroth stepped out and shook his head. Angeal followed a moment later, frowning.

"The room is clear of any surveillance equipment, however Angeal noted the presence of your 'ghosts'. Two of them, keeping a distance. Through process of elimination, Angeal has agreed to lend you his couch for the night."

"I'm surprised. How come he can see them, but you can't? If it's related to Jenova, all three of you have her cells. It can't be though, because I know -I- don't have any... So what's the common factor." Robin frowned, clipping the back once more into place on her mobile and then slipping it into its case. "There isn't anything I've told specifically Angeal and Genesis that I haven't told you, so it can't be something like 'knowledge'."

"It can't be anything we've eaten. We all had the same thing for lunch at the office, though some of us ate later than others." Genesis looked back and forth between the black and silver haired 1sts. "So what happened to Angeal that hasn't to Sephiroth, or vice versa."

"It's got to be something that 'happened', because it 'happened' to you too." She collected her pack and pushed herself to her feet, glancing at the red-headed Soldier. "I don't think we know enough about any of this to figure it out yet. It's been a long day too."

"She's right." Sephiroth shook his head. "Angeal, you are excused from your morning duties. Genesis and I will collect our guest and keep an eye on her in the morning, and we will reconvene here at lunch."

"Understood." The black-haired 1st reached for her wheeled luggage and then nodded towards the door marked III. "This way, Miss Aicisli."


	4. Day 2 & 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good to see you, Tocasia <3

Angeal's quarters were just as neat and orderly as Robin had expected them to be. Hardwood floors and solid, wooden framed furniture gave it a rustic feel when combined with the (equally) wooden paneling that lined the walls. It almost reminded her of the warmth of a grandparent's basement, though she doubted anyone related to her had ever mounted a series of swords along the walls. Stained glass lampshades painted amber portraits across the walls before the black-haired Soldier 1st gestured to the long, comfortable couch and it's patterned, woven cover and turned on a floor lamp in the corner. 

"Make yourself at home. All I ask, is that you respect my privacy and stay out of my private quarters." 

"Of course. I appreciate this, you know. I'm curious though, you're the most level headed of the three of you. You might give me an honest answer. If I had told Sephiroth that I wanted nothing to do with any of this, that it was all too dangerous for me, would he have let me go?" Robin set her pack down beside the couch, sitting down as Angeal sighed and wheeled her luggage over. 

"Reluctantly, but I believe so. Of course, what you know could save a lot of lives, which makes it important that we give you the ability to communicate it to us safely. You're a civilian, which makes you..."

"Fragile?" She supplied, and grinned at the tolerant smile that settled across his features. 

"You already seem to know a fair bit about the Turks, and while I might not understand how you came to know these things or how you managed to end up here, being informed is the first step to being safe." Letting go of her luggage, he stepped away to effortlessly pull an armchair closer. The massive sword at his back was pulled free and laid out carefully on the table so that it remained within reach if he decided to sit. "I know, that this can't be easy for you. I want to thank you for your patience. You seem to be keeping it together" 

"'Seem to be' is the optimal term there. I'm still holding out hope that this is a dream, honestly." A half-smile, half grimace pulled at her face as she hauled the luggage up onto her lap and unzipped the side, starting to go through the items she had purchased. "If this _is_ real, then I need to really think about what might be safe to share and what might make things worse. I want to tell you guys everything, but I've literally _seen_ Sephiroth go insane. His legs were wings." 

"I can understand your reluctance to share some things, if they have the chance to lead to that." Making his way to the kitchen, Angeal filled a kettle with water and then set it on the stove, twitching a knob to turn the burner on. "Knowing what you know, it seems it might be a heavy burden." 

"You're telling me. And it's specifically because a lot of the information was given to him at a critical moment when he was having a mental breakdown. Where I'm from, a lot of people think that it was part of what made him give up being a hero, and basically end up saying 'humanity sucks'. Which, I mean, I don't _blame_ him, humanity has a lot of suckage attached, but killing -everyone- is a bit far in my humble opinion." Noting she had everything she needed, Robin looked over to where her host for the night was starting to brew coffee. "What's a gal got to do to get some laundry done? I've been wearing these clothes for two days and thirty flights of stairs." 

"See the three behind you?" He nodded to indicate the doors themselves, and she twisted before nodding. "From the left, the first is my room. The second is the bathroom. The third leads to a hall that hangs a right, and from there my spare office, the laundry room and the stairs that lead up to the second floor."

"Right. Third door, hang a right, second door? I should have grabbed some detergent while I was out, but I expected to be the one hauling this around and a big thing of laundry soap would have made it too heavy." Making a face, Robin zipped the luggage up and then set it on the floor, extending the handle and starting to wheel it along after her. 

"Use some of mine." Leaning on the counter, he watched as she waved and disappeared through the indicated door before sighing as a polite knock rapped against his door. 

* * *

It took her a good fifteen minutes to figure out how the washer and dryer both worked, but it was manageable after she realized that both machines needed the knob pulled out to start them. Everything, including most of what she had purchased that day but excepting the spare unmentionables, a set of long soccer shorts two sizes too big and a running shirt she planned to sleep in went in. The luggage was left behind for the time being as she padded barefoot out of the room and came to an immediate halt. 

A grey cloak floated, silent, less than a foot away from her. The empty darkness within the hood slowly turned to orient on her, and she sucked in a breath as it shot forwards and slammed into her. Staggering, Robin's arms flailed as she went down heavily, just narrowly missing the stairs with the back of her head. A second one swooped down from the top of the stairs, scooping around her and shoving her against the wall as she tried to blink away the stars that blocked her vision. A wheeze escaped her as the original jammed against her side, partially rolling her before crushing her against the wall. 

Both hands scrambled against the wall and then the flat surface of the bottom stair, and she shoved as best she could to try and get clear. Two seemed to be more than enough to keep her trapped there though, and she fought to suck in a breath of air that failed to make it past the pressure on her ribcage. The edges of her vision had started to darken when the wooden floor split with a crack and the pressure abruptly eased. Both of the ghosts sank through the floor, and she managed a rasp of a breath and rolled to find the buster sword at her back. Angeal reached down a hand to help her to her feet as she wobbled, her other hand settling against the wall before she nodded in thanks. 

"Ballsy fuckers." 

"Are you okay." He checked her over for visible wounds, and she shook her head as she pulled her hand free of his grip. 

"Ribs hurt, and I conked my head and an elbow going down but I'm more... More bruised than anything." Looking around, she reached up to feel at the back of her head and winced. "Got any ice?" 

"That thing tried to kill you. If Sephiroth hadn't heard something hit the ground..." Angeal frowned, shaking his head as she blinked and tried to focus her vision on him before catching the silver-haired Soldier 1st step around the corner.

"What's Sephiro-? Oh. Hello." 

"Miss Aicisli. We will need to check you for a concussion." 

"Good idea." Reaching down to rub her elbow, she grimaced and carefully made her way down the hall and then past him, into the living room with Angeal hovering behind her. "You ever slip on ice, and then feel like you've pulled a muscle somewhere because you were trying to catch yourself? I think that's the worst part." 

"You narrowly missed the stairs. It could have been much worse. Sephiroth." Angeal headed to the kitchen, and opened a cupboard. A green orb was pulled from a rack and tossed in an easily catchable arc to the Silver General. "Our uninvited guest retreated through the floor." 

"Hmm. Ghost indeed, to be insubstantial." Catching the materia, the silver-haired 1st slotted it into a bangle and then reached out to snap his fingers in front of Robin's face. She grimaced, and leaned away before sighing as he held up one finger. "Follow the tip of my finger please. Hmm. Your pupils also appear to be fine." 

"Yours aren't. They're doing the stressed cat dilation thing." Wrinkling her nose as he reached to gently feel along the back of her head, she winced when he found the bump. Warmth spread outwards from his fingers, soothing away the pain. 

"My singular source of information about the future was very nearly killed by a foe I cannot see. There is, quite literally, nobody in the world who can replace your unique pool of knowledge. This makes you a unique, irreplaceable asset. You said you believe you pulled a muscle?" Sephiroth settled next to her on the couch as she nodded, one gloved hand cupping the elbow she had cracked against the ground.

"Thanks. Don't, ahh... Don't worry about what I might have pulled. I might be a bit sore tomorrow but I should be fine on that front." Glancing down at her arm as he gently pulled on her wrist to extend and bend her elbow, Robin managed a grin. "Thank's though. I mean it. Specially you, Angeal. I thought I was going to die for a moment there." 

"I should have kept a closer eye on you. It was my fault you were hurt." The black-haired 1st frowned as he poured himself a cup of coffee one-handed, still holding his sword with the other. 

"Honestly? I wouldn't beat yourself up over it. I'm surprised anyone knew I'd hit the ground. Washers tend to run pretty loud, which I think is what they were waiting for. I guess your senses are just that ridiculous then." Reclaiming her arm from Sephiroth, she rolled her shoulder slightly and then glanced down at what she was sitting on. "Is this the blanket you let me use before?" 

"I brought the pillow as well. It was my intention to drop them off for you, and then re-confirm your intention to remain." Pulling the materia free from his bangle, the Silver General pushed himself to his feet and made his way over to the cupboard that Angeal had produced it from so that he could return it to its rightful place. The black-haired 1st passed him on the way out of the kitchen and made his way to the armchair he had pulled over, sitting down with a sigh. "With all things considered, I thought you might have made a somewhat hasty decision." 

"If anything I'm more convinced that staying is the way to go. You guys have the resources and the manpower to keep my ass alive until I have half a chance of doing so myself." Scootching to the side enough to free the blanket, Robin shook it out and then draped it around herself, pulling her feet up onto the edge of the couch. "I'm just... Sorry I'm basically dead weight, you know?"

"To expect someone who is obviously a civilian to fight for their life..." Sephiroth frowned, turning back to the two in the living room. "If it was a foe of equivalent strength, such as another civilian, it would be different. With the situation as it is, even if you were a trained combatant, I would still wish to assign someone to your protection. What you know is too important to risk." 

"You mentioned earlier, about having an idea about a safe place I can tell you guys things in?" She glanced over at Angeal, who sipped his coffee quietly and nodded as the Silver General padded closer. 

"We discussed it at length. All of the training rooms automatically record each session. The problem is that it isn't a secure situation." The black-haired 1st set his drink down on a coaster before laying his sword along the length of the table. "We agreed from that however, that recording what you have to say would benefit us all regardless of the risk of discovery it would pose if a Turk got their hands on it." 

"Something to reference at a later date, in the event you might be... Unavailable." Sephiroth frowned faintly, standing at ease beside the armchair. 

"You mean 'dead'. I can't blame you there, it's actually a good idea. Did you have any ideas for where to have this discussion, though? I want... There's a few conditions I have for it." Nodding towards the silver-haired 1st, Robin folded her arms on her knees and rested her chin atop them. "I want you to be well fed and well rested. I want you to have your best shot at coming out of the incoming realizations _sane_. I want Zack, Genesis and Angeal there, because it's important for all three of them and if I could have Cloud there too... Well, I'm not going to worry about that part. I also want to go to Nibelheim. There's someone in the secondary basement there that I need to talk to, and that I think you should meet, even with the risk of exposure." 

"Some of these conditions are understandable, though I admit I don't know who 'Cloud' is." Sephiroth's frown deepened. "Zack, as in Zack Fair." 

"As in the Puppy, yeah. There's also a girl in the slums you might want to meet too, but I'll get to that part later. I don't quite know when I am yet in your timeline, so I don't really know how old some of these people might be. Did you have an idea for a location?" 

The two Soldiers shared a look before Angeal picked up his coffee. 

"How are you with heights, Miss Aicisli."

* * *

It felt like it was far too early in the morning for the black-haired 1st to shake her awake, but a look at the nigh-silently ticking wall clock confirmed that it was somewhere in the vicinity of nine am. Some groggy math equated it to six in the morning back 'home', which had her groaning as she sat up and scrubbed at her face.

"You were threatening to roll off of the couch." Angeal retreated back to the armchair, picking up the sword from the table and sheathing it across his back. "Sephiroth and Genesis have come and gone. In light of the attack last night, we decided to let you sleep in for a few more hours. I'll post by the bathroom door, if anything happens..." 

"Right, yeah. I got it. Thank's for your service." Yawning widely, Robin collected her luggage and dragged it into the bathroom to have access to the clothes she had haphazardly thrown in straight from the dryer immediately before she passed out last night. "I'll be quick." 

True to her word, and after a quick (and cold, she realized, which was all the more motivation for haste) shower, she exited the bathroom dressed appropriately in short order and stretched to test her mobility. A stiffness in her shoulder was all that was left of the pain from last night, and she playfully narrowed her eyes at Angeal. When he raised an eyebrow in response, Robin nodded towards where he kept his materia. 

"Did you heal me last night while I was out cold?" 

"You have, for you, a great number of stairs to climb today, Miss Aicisli." Angeal glanced towards the door as someone knocked, before turning and stepping past her into the bathroom. "Your escort is here." 

"Is it Zack? I bet it is. Could always make him carry me, he'd probably give great piggy back rides." Grinning, she snagged her pack and then looking up into the smile that beamed down at her. "Morning Sunshine." 

"Morning Robin! I've been given express orders to smuggle you into Commander Rhapsodos' office today, and to keep a close eye on you in the event you get attacked by invisible ghosts." 

"That about sums it up, yeah. We're also having a party tonight, and you're invited. Think you'll make it?" Closing the door behind her, she took a step forward and then worked her pack into place. "It wouldn't be the same without you, y'know." 

"I heard about that! My schedule's free, just for you." He nodded towards the stairs, and then swiped his key card to open the door for her. "I guess I get to be let in on why you're so important then, huh?" 

Wrinkling her nose at the stairs, she nodded and started making her way down to the fifteenth floor. "That's right. Truth be told you're sort of important. Just try and keep an open mind when you hear what I've got to say, alright? The 1st's have proof of it, but it's a bit wild and out've this world." 

"Oh yeah, that reminds me." Zack rooted through his pockets before producing a can, a tube of toothpaste and a toothbrush sealed inside it's packaging. She blinked at him, before giving him an easy smile and reaching out to take all three items. "I picked them up last night, but I didn't know where they were taking you until I received my orders this morning." 

"Thank's. I mean it." Stuffing the items into the pockets of her hooded sweater, Robin looked back down the stairs and puffed out a sigh. "Where I'm from, our deodorant comes in a stick for the most part. Only the fancy stuff comes in cans." 

"Wow. Mostly it comes in sticks here too, but I thought if you sprayed it in someone's eyes it'd certainly get their attention." An innocent grin was shot her way along with an arm that sought to keep her from tripping as she almost missed a step while she laughed. "Easy there!" 

"Useful if someone tries to tell me to follow them into a dark alley, I bet?" 

"That's the plan. You didn't look like you had any weapons, and while it's not much it might give you a chance to run away. I don't know how useful it'll be against ghosts though." Looking thoughtful, Zack hopped down the steps one at a time, keeping pace with her as she rolled her eyes. "I was informed they might not have eyes. Or faces, even."

"It's still worth a shot. Angeal hit one last night, so I know they _can_ be hit, at least. I have an idea though. I did buy a lighter yesterday, after all." 

* * *

She made it to the red-clad swordsman's office without incident, and as the door closed behind her she found herself surprised to find Genesis hard at work as he sorted through paperwork, compared files and read reports. He barely spared her a glance before gesturing for her to take a seat on one of the leather chairs in front of his desk and pushed a small stack towards her. 

"If you're going to be here you might as well make yourself useful. You spent a great deal of my gil, after all." 

"That's fair. What am I doing?" Dropping her bag beside the chair, Robin sat down and pulled the paperwork closer to her, reaching for the pen he rolled towards her. 

"Note the dates, compare reports, and let me know if anything doesn't match up. I have a lot to catch up on because of yesterday." Muttering darkly, Genesis looked back down at the paperwork in front of him, waving vaguely at her. "At the bottom of the stack should be some spare discrepancy reports. Use those if you need to for notes." 

The hours that followed would have probably felt longer than they actually did if the reports didn't consist of detailed reports of damages sustained as a direct result of Soldier versus monster missions. She couldn't stifle her snickers at some of the descriptions, doing her best to keep silent until lunch abruptly arrived a la Zack. Egg salad sandwiches and a pot of tea that smelled strong enough to stand a spoon in, plus a bottle of water. They both worked through their lunches until Zack returned to take away the finished work and deliver the work Genesis should have started that day. 

A deep-seated groan came from the red-clad swordsman as he leaned back in his chair, scrubbing both hands across his face. She took it as a sign to take a break, and looked around to get a better look at his office. 

Posters of the actors in Loveless coated every available surface, some of them framed and signed. A bookshelf stood against one wall, jam packed with novels of varying shapes and sizes, shoehorned in next to the row of filing cabinets. The chairs were all red leather, and the desk was an ancient, heavy looking wooden affair. Realistic looking plants flanked the tall backed chair Genesis sat in, and as he sighed and slumped she leaned to the side to take in the heavy drapes that covered the window, leaving the only light in the room the unchanging luminescence from the ceiling and desk lamps, not to mention the computer monitor. A plush rug coated the floor, and Robin idly toed it before noting that he was staring at her. 

"... Do I have sandwich on my face?" 

"I didn't expect you to actually _work_." He waved at the small stack she had pulled towards herself when Zack delivered the fresh files. 

"Well, you raised some very valid points. You're also actively making sure I don't get murdered or kidnapped so... It might not be much but I'm trying to do what I can to not be quite so useless. It's not hard work, comparing what people said and pointing out the things that don't line up." Robin gestured to the paperwork in front of her. "I gathered that this was pretty important stuff, to make sure that Soldier isn't getting soaked for damages. I might not know these Soldiers by face, but I've seen some of the stuff you guys can do. I know how big a hole you can put through a wall, and how big a hole a behemoth leaves." 

"Smart. I have a question." Leaning forward to pick up his pen, Genesis rested his forearms on his desk. When she tipped her chin up and hummed inquisitively, he narrowed his eyes and then shook his head slightly. "You say you know what we can do. What we personally, the 1sts, are capable of. You don't seem frightened of us, even with some of the possible things you've mentioned." 

"I was wondering where this was going." She lifted a hand to scrub it across her face, wriggling her nose as she sighed. "I'm not going to lie, anyone in the Soldier program could snap me like a fleshy twig. Anyone with a pair of eyes could figure that out. I couldn't even put up much of a fight, either. But you're _heroes_. Even with everything that happened in the war with Wutai, you're still, at the core of you, people who want to protect or save others. That's why you fight with Sephiroth so often, you want to show the world you're a better hero. He didn't ask for any of this, and probably attached himself to the idea of being a 'hero' only _after_ people started calling him one. And Angeal... Angeal's got a good head on his shoulders, and a strong protective instinct." 

She pointed the end of the pen at him, a smile playing about her lips. "You're not _bad people_. Just people that other people have screwed with and tried to screw up. If I can change your fates even a little, to give you guys a less horrible ending then I'm going to try. But to do that, I need to trust you guys to keep me alive so I can give you that chance to _be_ heroes, instead of turning into monsters." 

He frowned faintly at that, before looking down at the paperwork in front of him to hide the way his cheeks had faintly coloured. Waving a hand at her, he got back to work. She watched him for a moment before following his lead, optimistic about the chances of her survival. Perhaps surprisingly, they finished in time for Genesis to glance at the time in the corner of his screen and declare the day officially over. They tidied up the last of the files as a polite knock sounded at the door. 

"Come in." 

Sephiroth opened the door, leaning in and studying them both. "It is time." 

"Right. Who am I going with?" Robin looked between the two of them, as Genesis sighed and stretched his fingers. 

"The Silver General himself. Fabulous as I am, I'm the distraction. You will have an hour after it begins."

"Man am I glad I showered this morning." Getting to her feet, she awkwardly caught the guard uniform Sephiroth tossed towards her, putting it on over her pants and shirt before stuffing her sweater away into her pack. She handed it over as the silver-haired swordsman reached for it, and followed him to his office. She waited outside as he changed, and found herself quirking a brow as he opened the door after a few minutes and adjusted his helm. 

"Are you sure this will work? You're pretty tall." 

"I can slouch. Come in." He held the door for her, closing it and locking it behind her as she entered the office and then looked out the window. "You are certain that heights will not be an issue?" 

"Well, I shouldn't pass out or puke all over you if that's what you're worried about." She watched him as he gripped the window frame and hummed, popping two latches to remove the glass pane. "Though, I will be honest, I'm pretty nervous. I'm trusting you not to drop me." 

"The difficult part will be the edge of the plate. Fifteen stories is easier than three hundred meters." Turning towards her, he sized her up for a moment and hesitated. "... I wish to apologize in advance for any... Accidental misplacement of my hands. I don't often pick people up." 

"I don't often get carried." She smiled faintly, stepping closer. "Don't worry, I won't read into it. We all agreed that jumping out of a window with me in a fireman carry was likely to break my ribs against your shoulder on landing. Let's just get this over with." 

He hummed, stooping to hook one arm under her knees and circle the other around her shoulders, straightening as if she weighted nothing. He gave her the opportunity to collect her pack from his desk, clutching it to her chest as he stepped to the window and then up onto the ledge. Ducking enough to get under the upper edge, he took a few seconds to make sure his grip was secure and glanced around. 

"The distraction will have begun." Glancing down, he plotted his path and then studied her for a moment. "... I will not drop you." 

"Here's ho-" Sucking in a breath, Robin sent rigid as he stepped out of the window and flit along the side of the building. Momentum was diverted or lost along window sills until he kicked off the side of the building and landed with surprising agility on the top of the wall that surrounded Shinra's headquarters, hopping lightly down into the alley below. 

"Miss Aicisli...?" 

"Ffffffuh... fine. I'm fine." She wobbled slightly as he put her down, swallowing dryly and taking a moment to steady herself against the wall behind them. "Is... Is my backpack heavier, or am I imagining things." 

"You are not imagining things." He reached to gently pull it from her grasp, unzipping it and beginning to assemble two firearms out of the parts stored within it. "There is a shoulder strap. It will make it easier for you to carry." 

"R... Right. I thought it felt weird when I picked it up from your desk. I thought we were getting these from somewhere down here, not your office." Taking a shaky breath, Robin reached to accept the weapon as it was handed to her. Sephiroth took a moment to loop the strap over her shoulder and secure it before he crouched back down and finished assembling his own. "Is it loaded?" 

"It is." Shouldering her pack, he stepped back in and pointed out a few of the important pieces. "Safety. Trigger. Do not put your finger on the trigger unless you intend to fire. This releases the ammunition cartridge. In the position it is in now, it locks it into place. If you fire and your weapon jams, retreat." 

"Is it likely to do that?" Following his pointing, she grimaced as he turned and lifted a hand, two fingers flicking forward to prompt her to follow.

"One in six hundred cartridges jam. I have waged a small private war via paperwork to get them to redesign it, and nothing has come of it. It should be fine, but victory is celebrated by the prepared. Recite your current rules of engagement." 

"No wonder security guards all have such impressive arms. This thing is heavy." Trying to mimic how he held it on an angle, barrel pointed down and away, Robin hurried to match his even strides. "Keep my head down, let you do the talking. Alert you the moment I spot any ghosts. Keep behind and to your left at all times. Be mindful of my bearing. Keep the weapon across my chest to minimize people's ability to identify me." 

"And only put your finger on the trigger if you intend to fire." 

"Which I should only do if I'm ready to kill someone." Clearing her throat, she tipped her head down as they exited the alley, watching through the visor as he hummed out an affirmative sound. "I've just got one question."

"Hmm?"

"Isn't your hair going to get hot down the back of your shirt like that?"


	5. Day 3 & 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the party, Purpleshift <3

It was a brisk half hour long walk to the wall that marked the edge of the center ring of the plate. Robin was tired and sore in large part because of the weight of the firearm, and as they worked their way through one of the small access ways through the wall to a balcony on the other side, she was ready to lay down and die. Her escort reached up, using the added length of his weapon to nudge a security camera upwards enough to give it a view of the horizon instead of the space they stood on. 

"This will be a little difficult." Sephiroth smoothly began dismantling his firearm, tucking the pieces away into her pack before reaching out and gesturing to hers. She relinquished it all too happily, watching as he broke it down into components as well. "Are you ready?"

"No, but that doesn't matter." Grimacing as he audibly zipped her pack shut and then offered it out to her, Robin rubbed her shoulder and then took it. Holding it against her chest, she hunched slightly as he stooped and scooped her up the way he had in the office. "... Are... You sure it's going to work? It's pretty big." 

"Admittedly, this isn't my first time. Brace yourself." Taking a moment to make sure he had a good grip, the silver-haired swordsman took a slow, steady breath before stepping up onto the railing. A glance around was all the warning she had as he stepped down, and she managed to keep her eyes open as he landed feet-first on the edge of the reactor. Rapid steps had him controlling his momentum along the steep, barely sloped edge. It felt smoother than she expected as he lightly ran along the metal, though she sucked in a breath as they reached the lower half where the angle wasn't so severe. 

If anything, it gave him greater control, and she found herself relaxing marginally until she noted how quickly the ground was rushing up to meet them. Tensing right back up, she grunted as he smoothly transitioned and played out the rest of his momentum a few hundred feet out from the base of the reactor. He waited a moment for her to slowly let out the breath she had been holding before setting her down and gently pulling the pack from her hands. 

"Zack and Angeal are almost here with the truck. Rest, if you need to." 

"I don't think I've ever felt so awake. That might be the adrenaline though." Teetering slightly, Robin staggered a step and then sat down heavily. "How... How did you know you could do that? Like, okay, I'm not... You said this wasn't your first time doing this. Did you just one day look at the reactor and go 'hmm, I bet I could run to the bottom of that without breaking any limbs'?"

"Hmm. No, Wutai has many steep mountains however. Accounting for the difference in the texture of the terrain and the momentum, it was something I believed I could accomplish however. I brought appropriate materia however, in the event of an accident. Things with which to cushion a fall, or barring that to heal with." Pacing a few feet away, Sephiroth reached up to remove his helm, letting out a slow breath and closing his eyes as the cooler air hit his face. 

"What was it you said... Victory favours the prepared?" Stretching her legs out, she tilted her head and peered at him. "... So what was the distraction Genesis was in charge of."

"He visibly marched through the halls, shouting for a meeting with an executive and demanding total secrecy."

"That _would_ get the Turks attention. Still, would they really fall for a diversion like that?" Robin quirked a brow as he turned to face her, guard helmet held against his hip. 

"The executive he was shouting for a meeting with, was the assumed leader of the Turks."

"Veld, or Tseng?" Glancing over at the distant sound of a motor drawing closer, she pushed herself up and dusted herself off as he hummed thoughtfully. 

"Veld."

"Oh, that's lucky. We can leverage the fact that I know what happened to his old partner, and where he is. And that he's technically still alive too. It would turn him against Hojo _incredibly_ quickly. Is that them?" 

"I... Yes. You continue to prove to be a wealth of surprising information." Shouldering the backpack, Sephiroth tilted his head and slid his helmet back on. 

"Well, I mean I actually know more about the Turks than I do about Soldier. Funny story that, but that's... Tied into why I want to go to Nibelheim. More on that soon though." The truck pulled to the side, before a security guard popped out of the passenger seat. He waved, beaming under the helm before Zack's unmistakable voice hailed them. 

"Hop in the back! Genesis confirmed that he'll meet us there."

* * *

'There' turned out to be an old camp site maybe a five minute walk away from where Robin was _fairly_ certain that Zack died. A ring of stones and divot in the land hid the fire that Angeal started with supplies pulled from behind the passenger seat in the cab. Marshmallows, hot dogs and lengthy, forked metal prongs were fished out as well, before they settled around the area. Helmets were shed, and she had to stifle a laugh as both Sephiroth and Zack had to fish their hair out from the backs of their shirts. 

"Legends shall speak-" Robin startled as Genesis stepped abruptly into the firelight, scrambling a foot away before wheezing and flopping prone. He grinned, but otherwise continued. "-of a sacrifice at world's end. The wind sails over the water's surface. Quietly, but surely." 

"Genesis." Angeal held out a skewer, already loaded with a hotdog, and the red-headed 1st accepted it and joined the circle. "You made it."

"Of course I did. Out of everyone here, who else aside from the Puppy has my skill at distraction?" 

"I can't see Angeal being quite that mischievous, though both him and Sephiroth might prove surprising." Robin sat back up, fishing her marshmallow laden skewer out of the fire and putting out the burning brick of charcoal on the end. "How long do I have to tell you what happens?" 

"It is Friday night. While, technically, none of us requested leave for the weekend, regular office hours are Monday to Friday. The only time we would be required to be in the office on a Saturday or Sunday would be extenuating circumstances." Sephiroth reached forward, gently prodding the hot dog on his skewer before holding it out over the campfire once more. "Tonight, and two days." 

"I hope it's enough time. I'm not the best story teller, but I'll pause for breaks so you guys can ask questions. I guess... I shouldn't start where most people do. Cloud returning to Midgar wouldn't make any sense when none of you know who he is." Pausing, Robin nodded towards the silver-haired swordsman. "You might want to brace yourself. I'm going to start with you first, and get the biggest thing out of the way. I want you to know, that none of this information changes who you are, alright? You're just going to know yourself a little better."

He frowned faintly at that, before nodding. "... I am braced."

"Alright. So, your dad, the scumbag most people know as Hojo, got his hands on the corpse of what most people think is a Cetra. I don't know if they're right or wrong, but I _do_ know that the corpse was-is?- the host for an interstellar space parasite. It came to the planet thousands of years ago, and almost wiped out the Cetra. They managed to seal it in the North Crater, and the Weapons made by the planet to protect itself with are all sleeping there too. The planet uses these Weapons to fight off threats that might kill it. He fathered a kid - you - with a woman named Lucretia Crescent, who was a scientist working with him. I don't know _why_ she agreed to what she did, but I do know that she agreed to be injected with cells from the corpse they found while you were developing. It changed you, bound itself to your genetics. That's why physically, you have the capabilities you do. Because your real mom was injected with a semi-sentient space sickness that traveled from planet to planet, eating up their lifestreams and moving on." 

There was silence for a moment, broken only by the way Zack quietly took a sip of his drink in the background before she continued. 

"Your real mom... You were taken away from her before she even had a chance to hold you. If my math is right, she should be in the Crystal Cave, where Chaos - another weapon of the planet - was supposed to be reborn if they were needed. She loved you, even at her worst. So... Don't go on a rampage and kill all humans? Most of us aren't like Hojo." 

"When you said... About riding the planet like a comet..." Sephiroth trailed off, frowning as he turned his gaze to watch the fire. She nodded, sighing. 

"You find all of this out after your friends defect, because they find out they're sort of similar to you and go mad, basically say 'fuck this planet and all of this bullshit' and then try and take up your fake mom's line of work. Which, I gotta say, Angeal I'm _so_ sorry about what I'm about to say, but your mom was injected with Jenova cells too, which is why you have them, and then Genesis was injected with your mom's cells. Which, because she was injected with Jenova stuff is why you are too. It's why the three of you are the strongest. Hollander wanted to prove that Genesis would turn out stronger and more stable than Sephiroth, like a competition between him and Hojo about who could make the strongest fighter." Giving the red-clad swordsman a sheepish smile, she folded her legs and started to peel the burned outside of her marshmallow brick off, leaning to toss it into the fire and then dip the skewer in to burn the rest off. 

"This is all _super_ weird, but where do I fit in to all of this?" Zack set his drink down, tilting his head as he watched her. 

"You make it to 1st after Angeal and Genesis defect, and then after Sephiroth gets cracked by everything going on you and a ca... det? Wait, no he was an infantry at, uhh... Sixteen. Yeah. He would have been a member of the infantry. But Cloud Strife and you become friends when you go to Nibelheim because of a report of some monsters in the mountains and check on the reactor. You're there when Jenova starts influencing Sephiroth and drives him over the edge, and when he goes in to 'reunite' with her in the mako reactor, you both try and stop him. Cloud gets run through, but then swings Sephiroth over the ledge with Jenova's 'head' and falls into the Mako. Because you're critically wounded, Hojo takes you and Cloud for experiments, where you both spend fourish years in tanks in the Mansion basement, trying to find ways to break out. He becomes your living legacy, because you die getting him just about to Midgar, and he cracks a bit too and believes he made it to Soldier 1st when really, that was you. He starts thinking he was you, for the Nibelheim incident."

"Is there a way to provide proof of all of this? Beyond what we already have. Something tangible that isn't your knowledge and appearance." Genesis leaned back, propping himself up on one arm as he lifted a glass bottle to his lips. 

"Well, there's Sephiroth's real mom. There's also the ex-Turk that was guarding her. Nibelheim mansion itself, Hojo... Might have some files on it somewhere, but it's not like you can just walk up to him and ask for them." 

"The Turks... Your area of interest. Where does it lie?" Sephiroth roused from his musings, studying Robin as she let out a sheepish cough and had the grace to look embarrassed. 

"So. Veld's partner was a man named Vincent Valentine. He loved your mom, and still does. He was assigned to protect your mom when he was a Turk, and falls for her during that time. After getting sent away for a year, he comes back and learns that you were conceived, and gets angry with her. Not physically angry, just... Well, he tries to stop Hojo, and gets shot for it. Basically killed, before Hojo starts experimenting on him, putting monsters into him because Lucretia put the power of a weapon named 'Chaos' into him to keep him alive. He's been sleeping in a coffin in the sub basement, wrestling with his inner demons ever since." 

"The man in the sub basement. You mentioned him before." Angeal curled slightly, resting his elbow on his propped up knee as he rotated his skewer to keep his hot dog from burning. "One of your conditions." 

"Ye-es... If this is all real, then... I dunno. I just want to meet him, I guess. Something of a fan. It was easier to be captivated by his story when, y'know. It... Was a story." Clearing her throat, she reached for the closest bag of marshmallows and pulled one out so that she could spear it on her skewer and then extend it out towards the fire. "Anyway, he and Veld were pretty close, and I know if he knew knew what had happened to his partner and who did it, Hojo's days would be numbered. This is where it gets tricky though." 

"Oh man, it gets _more_ complicated?" Zack stretched out on his back with a groan. "I hope there isn't a quiz."

"Just wait until I get into the Jade Weapon and Deepground arcs. And the genetic mutability of Jenova itself." 

* * *

The fire had burned low by the time Robin had exhausted herself with an unfortunately piecemeal recounting of what she could remember. The five of them had worked out a loose timeline, etched in the dirt and then scrubbed out after pictures were snapped. Sephiroth volunteered for first watch as the rest of the Soldiers piled into the back of the truck, leaving the cab for her. She watched as he sat and stared at the dying embers for as long as she could manage before sighing and opening the door so that she could go and join him. 

"Hey." 

A soft sound hummed out from him as she sat down a foot away to acknowledge her presence. His gaze looked through the fire as he absentmindedly poked at it with his skewer.

"Your eyes are doing that stressed cat thing again. I'm also fairly certain that the other guys in the truck are just as asleep as you, but faking unconsciousness with various degrees of success." 

"A mutation, or is there as of yet uncounted for genetics tangled within mine." His quiet response sent of alarm bells in her mind as she grimaced and then reached out to set a hand on his arm. 

"I was worried that this might happen. You're... Not a monster, you know. You haven't _done_ any of those things yet. You're still you, still sane. Genesis and Angeal are still here." 

"But I have the potential. I am not... _Human_." 

"So what? Hojo's human, and he's more monstrous than anything I've ever seen or heard of." Her words finally drew a reaction, as he slowly blinked and looked over to study her face. Wrinkling her nose, she gestured with her free hand to the world around them. "You didn't ask for any of this. The only ones that did were Hollander and Hojo. They're scum. But there's a lot of not-scum out there too. What you are or aren't doesn't define what you _do_. I'm not a fire fighter, but I'll call the emergency line if I see a burning building." 

That got a faint smile out of him, and she shifted to lightly elbow him. "Besides being all human is _gross_. There's tons of theories about what you could do if you put your mind to it. The only hiccough is your mind itself, because that's what's at the steering wheel. You could fly, and beat _death_. Maybe not for the right reasons but it's still pretty cool. You're also not as alone as you might think you are. Everyone in Soldier is believed to have a bit of Jenova in them. That's probably why surviving the enhancements is so difficult, because people are being injected with dead space-flu. If you're going to focus on _that_ being your family tree, then you've got tons of cousins that look up to you and need you to protect them, just like you already do." 

"Family..." He trailed off, as if trying the word out.

"Not only that, but where I'm from you've got a cult following, even with all the things you could potentially do. You've got a fan club here too, I'm led to believe. They idolize your strength, your good looks and your cunning. None of them might understand how you got all three gifts of the gods, but y'know. They're more impressed with what you've done with them so far." 

"Do you have a family, Miss Aicisli." 

The question caught her off guard, and Robin turned to more fully face the bed of embers. "... Yeah. I have a sister, and my old man's still kicking around. I'm on amiable terms with them, but I'm really... I'm really bad at keeping in touch. I lose track of time easily, and before I know it birthdays and holidays and years have come and gone in a flash." 

"And friends? Like Genesis, or Angeal." 

"Or even Zack?" She flashed him a grin, before stretching out her legs and leaning back on her hands to peer upwards. "Sort of. Plenty of people who would call themselves my friends, certainly. I'd socially call them the same, but they're not like yours. Only one or two would really try and make sure I wasn't dead if I didn't check in after a while, or have my back when I couldn't have it myself."

"Do you... Miss them?"

"Mmm, it's complicated, I guess. The one or two, yeah. I've never met some of them in person even, but I still get sad thinking they might think I've ghosted or straight up died. I didn't ask to come here. But I know that my life or death won't impact them beyond sadness and wondering. It won't be the end of their world, if I can't find a way back." Wiggling her feet, Robin tipped her head to glance at him as he continued watching her. "You've got another question. I can see it in the way your brow's furrowed."

"People often have a much harder time reading my expression." Tilting his face back towards the embers, he hummed quietly. "... You still want that. To return to your home." 

"I'm thinking about it but I don't... I don't really _know_ , yet. It's hard, trying to weigh the people who you suddenly find relying on you against the comfortable complacency of 'home'. There's also the adventure aspect. I'm literally a nobody, where I'm from. Not special, not particularly strong or gifted with anything. I worked at the equivalent of a sandwich shop for minimum wage, just trying to get by and spend my days until I die. No purpose, grand plan... Nothing. This? Me being here? It's _terrifying_. There's tons in this world that can kill me, and more than a few things that would probably be happy to. But it's also _exciting_. I matter here, even if only because I'm 'that person who tried to stop catastrophe'. Even if I fail, I still _tried_. It might not mean much, but it means something to me." Flopping backwards, Robin folded her hands behind her head and wriggled her nose once more. 

"Even if it means risking death?" 

"Shouldn't be a problem with the four top members of Soldier protecting me. It's only until I can handle whatever experiments Hojo tries throwing at me, and those ghost things. I've been thinking about ways to get stronger. There's... A lot of things I need to change about myself, though I'm not going to like any of it. My rivalry with stairs seems destined to continue for the foreseeable future."

* * *

The morning brought a truly surprising amount of food unloaded from the back of the truck and cooked over the fire. Angeal, perhaps unsurprisingly, was the one who was acting as the 'chef' while the other two 1sts spoke quietly with one another a short distance away. They all looked over as she opened the door and exited the cab, stretching and wincing as she rubbed her shoulder only to just about jump out of her skin as Zack stuck his head out over the side of the truck. 

"Morning Robin!" 

"FFFF-hooa, morning, Zack. If I wasn't awake, I certainly am now." Leaning back against the door she had just closed, she put a hand over her heart and wheezed quietly before looking over. Her eyes narrowed at the impish way he was peering over the edge of the low wall that surrounded the bed of the truck, before rounding on him as he skittered towards the end of the vehicle. "You little-... You did that on _purpose_." 

"Nu-uh!" He slid out of the bed of the truck, circling around as she made for the tailgate, grinning at her as she shook a fist at him and sighed. 

"You absolute -shit-. I'm filling one of my pockets with _rocks_ to throw at you, I hope you know that." Shaking her head, she made for the campfire as Angeal shook his head and plated up some eggs and a sausage for her. "Thank's."

"Utensils are just there." He nodded towards the kit bag beside him as he remained crouched by the fire, still tending the flat frying pan. "How did you sleep."

"Not that well, admittedly. I feel like my arm's going to fall off. What time is it?" Collecting a fork, Robin moved to sit down nearby, peering around blearily as Sephiroth and Genesis returned to the campfire.

"Almost ten." The red-clad swordsman plopped down beside her, reaching to try and steal some food from her plate before she swatted at his hand with the back of her fork. 

"Hey! Get your own. This is-" A glance down had her fall silent before a narrow-eyed stare was given to the all too innocent Sephiroth as he serenely meandered away from her other side to collect a plate for himself. "... Mister General _Sir_. Did you steal one of my eggs." 

"While you were asleep, we discussed what you shared with us last night." Smoothly avoiding answering her question, Sephiroth loaded his plate with more eggs and sausages before circling the rest of the way around the fire to sit opposite her and Genesis. "We have all agreed that it would be beneficial to all parties involved if you were to get stronger." 

"The problem is _how_." Licking the fingers of his gloves now that he had finished the sausage he had stolen from her, the red-headed swordsman smirked as she snapped her gaze over to him and then hoarded her remaining egg to herself, hurriedly stuffing it into her mouth. "You're a civilian, so you don't have the years of military training or discipline that would otherwise be important. In your own words, you worked at a cafe." 

"Sbubbies. Ih wahs a Sbubbies." 

"Don't talk with your mouth full. It's disgusting." Genesis wrinkled his nose, before stretching his legs out. "None of us can physically train you without running the risk of hurting you. While I can give you pointers and lessons on materia and it's uses, you've already demonstrated that you know a great deal about that topic already. You have the theoretical knowledge, if not the practical." 

"None of us have ever trained an unenhanced before. We always waited until they had gone through their first round of enhancements and, by extension, were more durable." Angeal leaned to deposit more food onto her plate, and she shuffled closer and leaned away from the red-clad swordsman as he eyed her, amused. "This means we're going to have to improvise." 

"Because of this, we came up with a system that might work. None of us can work with you to physically increase your stamina and strength, beyond the position of a coach. However, this will not give you the growth we all seek to see." The silver-haired swordsman neatly portioned out the eggs on his plate into bite sized pieces, glancing behind her only the once. "Instead, we have decided to... Motivate you." 

Resisting the urge to turn around, Robin squinted and did a headcount. Dirt and gravel ever so faintly crunched behind her until she turned and swatted at Zack as he crept up behind her, one hand outstretched for her plate. He recoiled as she hit his hand with the back of the fork, grinning. "I think I see. Don't suppose I can opt out, can I?" 

"You can." The 2nd scooted away, hands up to prove he wasn't a current threat. "But that wouldn't be fun."

"Admittedly, it also promises to be amusing." Genesis smirked at her, tilting his head.

"But not _sustainable_." She huddled over her plate, pointing towards them with the fork. "I think it's... Not a _bad_ idea, but the four of you have day jobs. There's also the fact that it would be easy for others to notice what's going on if you and other Soldiers spent your time terrorizing me." 

"Which is why we plan to make the most of our weekends and evenings. When we return, we will requisition the appropriate materials to outfit your second floor, and rotate between the four of us until we determine who else among the Soldier program would have the self-control to qualify." Sephiroth rearranged the food on his place, before meeting her gaze with a faint smile. "Angeal and Genesis often complain that I need more hobbies, and that I work far too much. Consider it exercise for the both of us." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updated to better reflect writer's forgotten knowledge


	6. Day 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the party, BlueTruth

After successfully defending her breakfast long enough to eat it, Robin stripped the security uniform off. Still wearing the previous day's clothes underneath, it left her in a running shirt and pants as she glumly looked out at the Soldiers as they discussed what was likely a battle plan. Zack watched her, beaming and doing squats as the other three drew in the dirt. She swallowed nervously when the other three looked up at her as one, until Angeal broke away from the group to cross the distance. 

"Decided who's going to do what?" 

"Genesis and the General are going to do some light sparring and exercise. You, are going to show Zack and I where he is supposed to die." The black-haired 1st nodded to the cliff just a short ways away. "You seem to be under the impression we're going to hunt you down and beat you with a stick if we catch you. That's not our intent at all." 

"I... Well, I mean yeah, that was..." Clearing her throat, Robin smiled slightly. "I was dreading some sort of extreme training or... I don't know." 

"We could if you want!" Zack jogged over, smiling before falling into step as she cringed and turned to start leading the way. "Mostly for the time being it's going to be routine, exercise and healthy meals. You're still going to be going to bed exhausted, but building up the basics is the most important. We're going to _motivate_ you, remember? Boot camp's pretty much the opposite of motivating."

"So no more scaring me first thing in the morning?" She quirked a brow as he grinned cheekily. 

"No promises! It's good to build up spacial and situational awareness. Your senses aren't as keen as ours, but they'll grow sharper with time. We don't know how _old_ you are, so we don't know what might be too stressful on your joints." 

"Ouch! I'm not _old._ " Blowing a raspberry at the still grinning 2nd, Robin grumbled and shook her head as she carefully picked her way along the rocks. "I'm probably... Just a little older than Sephiroth."

"But nobody knows _his_ age." Frowning, Zack tucked his hands behind his head and stared up at the sky before gasping and looking at her with wide eyes. "Unless... No. Do you know his age?" 

"I'm still fuzzy on the timeline but we got it narrowed down to the year, if not the month. Closest guess I've got if I had to make one is that he's a fall or winter baby, because some of the images related to when Lucretia were pregnant had greenery in the background and a lot of storms when she was further on, though it's not much to go by. This is it." Robin nodded to the bluff, before blinking as Angeal paced past her to inspect the view. The black haired 2nd looked around, curious. 

"It's kinda surreal, being told that this is where I've died. So how old is he? Sephiroth, I mean." 

"Just past twenty, as best I can figure. Vincent was in his coffin for thirty -ish- years when the original came out, and you spend four and a bit years in a tank, which rounds him down to twenty six. But we're also even before the degradation, and the Wutai war is still going on. So knock three or four off that number, and you're down to twenty two, twenty three?" 

"Younger than Genesis and I." Angeal knelt down at the edge, looking down before drawing his blade. "You said my sword gets planted here." 

"Yeah, like a marker for a grave. It's about that long, gets kicked over... So about here?" Robin padded over to a spot, before looking around, squinting. "Yeah. Within a few square feet of where I'm standing." 

"So twenty one _ish,_ probably twenty two, to be safe and to give a little bit of leeway." Zack frowned thoughtfully as he looked around. "Well, I'm gunna hold a birthday party for him." 

"Please keep in mind, I've no idea when your year starts in correlation to mine, or even if seasons work the same. I don't know if September in Midgar would be winter in Nibelheim or vice versa." 

"You know when your Turk idol's birthday is, don't you?" He grinned at her as she picked up a rock and lobbed it at him, watching as it missed by a wide margin. "You do! I knew it!"

"Zack." Angeal pushed himself to his feet, frowning as he started to jog back towards the camp. "Stay here. Keep Miss Aicisli safe." 

"Wh-?" Confused, the black-haired 2nd looked around, one hand rising to settle on his standard issue sword.

"That's an order!" His mentor's sharp tone had him snapping a salute in response as he shared a glance with Robin. 

"Wonder what that was all about." 

"Probably trouble. The _smart_ thing would be to stay here and keep away from any dangerous locations. I'd just get in the way, myself." Robin moved to sit down on a rock, stretching her legs out with a shrug. "You probably want to go and protect them, even though they're all stronger than you. I think Angeal made the right call by telling you to stay here." 

"You're probably right. Still..." Zack sat down next to her, folding his arms and resting his elbows on his knees as he looked back the way the black-haired 1st had run. 

"You feel like a little kid, told to sit and wait while the adults go and handle whatever trouble is afoot?" Reaching to pap him on the shoulder, she shifted to mimic his posture. "I bet it helps to know that they've all got less than a decade on you. You're, what, just about sixteen? I remember you were only a few years older than Cloud." 

"Yep." He smiled at her, before habitually glancing around.

"Well, let me let you in on a little secret. Being someone who can _literally_ fight off dragons at sixteen is an incredible accomplishment already. Where I'm from, you wouldn't have graduated high school yet, and couldn't legally drink in most paces." 

"I _can't_ legally drink in most places. The age for that is eighteen." Sheepishly, he reached up and rubbed the back of his head, swaying as she shoved at him. "Not that it works" 

"There, see? You've barely got an idea of who you want to be, you're probably still growing, and you can already probably bench the truck we drove here in. When I was sixteen I wasn't even a person yet. It's like a television show. Ages one to twenty are the first season. It's not well written, nobody knows where it's going and it's severely underfunded. Besides, you're not being told to sit here because you're not capable. You're being told to sit here because you _are_ strong and _I'm_ not." 

"Heh, I guess that does sort of make me feel better." Zack leaned back, stretching his legs out as he surveyed the area once more. "I just... I want to _do_ things and prove myself, you know?"

"I do. But I also don't understand why anyone in their right mind would _not_ accept the easy win and take the lazy success. Then again, you literally do squats when you're bored, and I've a history of Sloth." 

"Sloth?" Bright blue eyes turned back to her as she shrugged. 

"Means I like being lazy. Just look at me. My ideal life would be to get paid to do literally nothing but waste my time. It's part of why I'm not looking forward to all this exercising or training." Her wry smile was answered by one of his own before he reached to lightly push her by the shoulder.

"You should really look into materia then." 

"I plan to. Still, I get the feeling that getting the stamina to be able to at least run if something tries to eat my face would be the _healthy_ thing to do. Just in case my guardian of the day gets mobbed. I just... Need to get a materia." Her face scrunched before she rubbed at her arm. "I've got a list, but I don't know if any of them exist yet." 

"Oh? Which ones? I could always take a look through the supply depot and then recommend them to Angeal and the others." 

"Keep in mind if I could get these unmastered, that'd be perfect. Okay, so... Double cut, an All. Barrier. Heal, Cure, Ice. Maybe a Lightning and a Fire. Seal and Shield. Time would be good. Quadra Magic is a must. An Enemy Skill wouldn't be too bad. Sense is a no brainer, and a health to magic swap would probably come in handy. Luck plus and Speed plus, and possibly a summon of some kind." Glancing at him as she had counted and recounted on her fingers, Robin grinned at him when she noted he was using his fingers too. Between the two of them, there were eighteen fingers in the air. 

"I don't know how you'd use them all at the same time. Most weapons or items only have one or two slots unless you use them for a long time." 

"Well, it would depend on the build, right? Okay, so say you know you're going into an area where there's lots of enemies that are resistant to magic. You wouldn't want to use ice, fire or lightning right? You'd want to beat them up with your sword." Reaching over, she folded down his fingers and then tapped them one at a time. "For me, with the list I've given, that would mean Double cut, All, Barrier, Luck and Speed plus, and health to magic swap. Maybe a Cure if I could fit it in there." 

"Oh. That's just seven. But you wouldn't use the rest."

"Right." Folding the fingers he had raised as she tapped them. "But if I was just chumming around, minding my business, I'd go with All, Barrier, Cure, Ice, Luck and Speed plus." 

"Why Ice though? Wouldn't a Fire or Lightning do more damage?" He blinked at his fingers, before looking at her as she chuckled. 

"Well, technically. But being able to just make ice is pretty useful. Say I needed to seal a door shut for a bit. Or I wanted to cool a drink. Or I had the finesse to shape it into making temporary items like a stick or a weapon." 

"Oh! I get it. What would you use if you were going out to beat things up?" All of his fingers folded back down as he grinned at her, and she hummed before starting to tap his fingers. 

"Well, Barrier and All are usually two that I'd want at all times. Quadra magic, then Lightning. Sense, so I could know if they had any weaknesses. Time and Seal otherwise, because by then I'd probably be physically fit enough to run and find cover on my own and wouldn't need to rely on Luck or Speed. Though, if I could fit those two in, I'd use them." 

"So, seven is about the average per 'build' that you would go with." Looking at his fingers, Zack frowned and tilted his head. "I don't think I've ever heard of a Quadra magic or a Double cut."

"I think the Double cut was an experimental work of Shinra's. It was found on the Gelnika after it sank, and that's a Shinra plane. Quadra magic though I _think_ was found in a materia cave. I think it was the one somewhere around Mideel, but it's... It's been years, honestly, since I looked into any of that stuff. I just remember needing a very specific chocobo to get to it. Had to be one that could cross mountains, like a black one." Robin pursed her lips, looking thoughtful. "Come to think of it, I think the health and magic swap was one too. Somewhere near Corel." 

"Out of all of those, the ones I've seen in the supply depot are All, Cure, Barrier, the elemental magics, Heal and some of the pluses." Setting his hands on his lap, he smiled and then glanced over to see the three 1sts on their way over. "I'll talk to Angeal and see about maybe getting some for you." 

"Thanks. I appreciate it." 

* * *

"We will need to walk back to the city. We salvaged our supplies, but the vehicle..." Sephiroth frowned, sitting down heavily with a sigh as Genesis sat down next to him and scattered backpacks around himself on the ground. Angeal called Zack over to him to walk a perimeter, and Robin frowned as she eyed the red-headed swordsman up and down for injuries. "It was the Ghosts. I could see them as well, this time." 

"They tried to push me onto his sword." Genesis gave the sky a disgruntled look. "They seemed to want to avoid him and focus on me."

"That's... Maybe it's not only me they're trying to kill." She frowned, looking thoughtfully between the two of them before narrowing her eyes. "... Genesis is uninjured, right?" 

The silver-haired swordsman nodded before pausing. He glanced at her, and then quickly glanced away as she gave him her best 'I-know-what-you-did' look. "... I think we're all thinking similar things here, in that they were trying to make the degradation kick in." 

"So what, you want me to live my life in fear of every little paper cut or splinter?" The red-clad swordsman scoffed. "It was cured once. We just need to try and jog your memory or figure out how it happened." 

"You kept going after Sephiroth because Hollander told you his cells would stabilize you, but I'm pretty sure that was bullshit because immediately after you were hurt, he tried to donate blood but was told it would do essentially nothing. And one of your clones ate some of Zack's hair, to try and get some S-cells, but just turned all weird. I'll think about it, and see if I can't remember anything else as we go. In the meantime, does anyone have a Cure materia? While we're sitting down I'd like to take a moment and see if I can't get one to work, and that seems like a good place to start." 

"Neither of us are hurt." Genesis gave her a quizzical look before she pointed tiredly at herself. 

"Right. Neither of _you_ are hurt. But I stubbed my toe and scraped my hands on the rocks when trying to climb the short-ass little ledges to get up here. I'd like to practice before trying to reattach my arm or re-embowel myself." 

"She raises an excellent point." Pulling up one sleeve, Sephiroth worked off the armlet he wore before starting to pull materia from it. Tucking the orbs away, he handed it to her with one green one left. She took it and worked it over her wrist, blinking down at it. 'Genesis. I believe this is your area of expertise." 

"Right." He sighed, and made no move to get up off the ground. "Have you ever used a materia before, Miss Aicisli." 

"Negatory, Commander Genesis Rhapsodos, first of his name."

"What." The red-clad swordsman sounded affronted as he partially twisted and lifted his head, peering at her in confusion. She shrugged, stretching out her legs and crossing them at the ankles. 

"You all are making me feel _old_ , and I'm about your age. Just call me Robin, alright? If you keep telling me to 'Miss' I'll never hit anything." 

Rolling his eyes, Genesis let his head thump back onto the ground. " _Fine_. -Robin-. The first step to using materia is to connect to it. It holds the information you need to be able to use the magic, complex as it is. All you need to do, is-"

"I got it." What surprised her was that she _did_. It wasn't so much a metaphorical reach into the materia, but a mental 'tug' and then blatant belief that it would just _work_. Motes of green flickered around her fingers, before sinking into her hands. The scraped raw skin healed over, before she flexed her fingers and tucked both hands on her shoulder. After a moment, she grinned and rolled her arm. "Oh, that's loads better." 

"... Your first try." Sephiroth tilted his head before narrowing his eyes as motes of green started to dance around him. 

"Bet you thought you were safe. I've spent my fair share of time staring at clocks, trying to make them move faster by willpower alone."

"Seriously? It took me a _week_." Genesis sat up, staring at her and the armlet. 

"I will warn you. If you exhaust yourself, it will be Genesis' turn to carry you. I doubt he would take to the task without complaint." The silver-haired swordsman nodded to the other 1st, who scowled. 

"Your legs aren't broken. Besides, we're camping here anyway." The red-clad swordsman waved a hand, irritated, before dropping it to his side. "Do you feel tired?" 

"A little, yeah. I should be fine if I sit and rest for a bit though. I have a general idea of how much the weakest spell takes at a time. It's a different kind of tired. For now, I think three might be my limit." Rubbing the back of her head sheepishly, she sighed before starting to work the armlet off until Sephiroth reached out and laid his hand over it. 

"Keep it."

Robin wrinkled her nose. "Great. First I owe Genesis about four hundred gil for clothes and supplies, and now I owe you for something you can _literally_ only get by beating up dragons." 

"You... Know what this is." He sounded surprised, and leaned back to study her for a moment as she shrugged.

"It's a dragon armlet. Of _course_ I know what it is. Three pairs of linked slots? Tiny dragon wings? I used to... Well, in the game I used to try and steal them off of dark dragons in the Northern Cave. It's three linked slots. This one's not black though, so I'm assuming you can get them from others too-" She abruptly paused, brows furrowing as she looked from it to the original owner. "... That's basically the only place you can get them. Where'd you get this one?"

"Shinra manufacturing. There were reports of dragons in the Nibel mountains, so we slipped away to test ourselves. It was the first time we ever got Seph to play hooky." Genesis sounded smug, a smirk playing about his lips. " _I_ killed it."

"You landed the killing blow." Sephiroth smiled faintly as he shook his head. "We brought the corpse with us when we returned, and they fashioned a number of them."

"Man, now I _really_ can't accept this. It has -meaning-." Working the armlet off, she lifted a hand to lob it back at the silver-haired swordsman before her wrist was caught. Sucking in a breath, Robin tensed and slowly turned before relaxing when she realized it was Angeal. 

"If you feel that strongly about it, then return it when you get something for yourself. More than three were made, and we each have a few." The black-haired 1st let go of her and moved to sit down beside her, adjusting the sword across his back to make sure it didn't hinder him. "Just in case Genesis ever lost his." 

" _Excuse me_ , I have -never- lost one." Affronted, the red-clad swordsman picked up a clod of dirt and threw it at Angeal, huffing when it broke apart in mid-air. 

"Of these, no." Sephiroth stretched out his legs, lips twitching upwards in a slightly more noticeable smile and his tone turning reassuring. "I have another, Miss Aicisli." 

"Thanks then, Mister Silver General Sephiroth, first of his name."

"Favoritism! You used my last name, but not his?" Genesis faked a scowl, throwing another clod of dirt and watching as it landed at her feet. 

"Look, the more mental distance I put between him and his sperm donor, the better. Though, I _will_ admit, for a long time I thought Vincent was your dad, because Hojo looks like a literal _toad_ , slime and all, and you're only _slightly_ less attractive than Genesis. Who is, of course, fabulous." She bowed as best she could while seated, and the red-clad swordsman smirked. "But then I learned he was away for a whole -year-." 

"He must be a looker then, if you think we're all pretty but not enough to catch your eye." Zack plopped down on her other side, grinning as she reached to playfully shove at him. 

"He is, but he's Forbidden Goods. He's also technically... Well, fifty. Thereabouts. But physically, he's only a little older than Angeal, because of the experiments done on him. And mostly Chaos. He basically didn't age while in the sub basement. It's mostly theory crafting, because nobody knows for -sure- what was done to him beyond the few that get covered." Robin scrunched up her face, starting to work the armlet back on. "There's a lot of things that 'experimented on' can mean."

"You still... Care, about him though. Despite that. Is it pity." The silver-haired swordsman tilted his head, frowning faintly as she cleared her throat. 

"He's six foot tall, dark and handsome, with legs for -days- and long hair. When I first found him, he back flipped out of a fricken coffin with a giant red cape, gold clad arm and ridiculous gold plating on his boots. It was impressive and ridiculous enough to get my attention right off the bat and make me go 'who the hell is this punk'. Then... Well, I kept him in the party because he was ranged and the second best caster in the game. And everyone in the back row tended to take less damage." Feeling her face heat up, Robin grinned sheepishly and shrugged. "When you can't actually meet someone because they'e not even on your plane of existence, it's not like you have any options for getting to know someone except the research you do on your own. I cant say I pity him, because I don't feel sorry for him. Angry with Hojo on his behalf, frustrated that he thinks locking himself in a coffin for thirty years is a type of 'penance' instead of a super _dumb_ move when he could have been helping you, yeah, and envious because you don't find the dedication he has to Lucretia in actual -people-. But pity? The mans one of the best the Turks ever had on their payroll, and you don't get to be like that if you're background is the type that lets people pity you."

"If he was here, what would you say to him?" Genesis leaned in, curious as he idly picked at some of the rocks in front of him. She laughed, a high nervous sound and shook her head. 

"Nothing. Not a damn thing. I'd be... Terrified, self-conscious and trying to get the hell away." Robin paused, reconsidering and nodding towards the silver-haired swordsman. "Wait, no. I'd tell him that Sephiroth is Lucretia's son, and use that as a distraction to make my escape." 

"If what you say about his attachments are accurate, he might focus on me for a little bit. But if he is half the Turk you claim he is, then what makes you think you could escape him indefinitely." The individual in question tilted his head, drawing one leg up so that he could loop his arm around his knee and weave his fingers together.

"The fact that I'm -literally- nobody. Get Genesis to throw a clod of dirt off the edge of Midgar and you'll probably hit someone better than me in _so_ many ways."

Sephiroth quirked a brow, and dipped his head towards her as he spoke. "They are not here, Robin. You are."

"That doesn't-" Sighing in exasperation, she reached to playfully shove Zack as he nodded in agreement. "It could have been anyone, is my point. And they'd probably have better qualifications."

"But it -wasn't- just anyone." The black-haired 2nd lightly shoved her back as he spoke, and she grunted as she hit Angeal in the side and was righted by Zack's mentor. "It was you. That, is the point. You chose to step into Sephiroth's apartment."

"After seeing what I did, you'd be intrigued too. Besides I didn't think any of this was _real_. You would've thought it was an interesting dream too."

The silver-haired swordsman paused to consider her words, before his eyes widened and the tips of his ears pinked.


	7. Day 4 cont.

"While Angeal secures our current camp, Miss Ai-" Sephiroth paused as she quirked a brow at him while tucking her elbow onto her knee and propping her chin onto her hand. "... Robin. I would ask that you walk the perimeter with me." 

"Close call there. I suppose I should take the gentle cardio while I can before you guys sic Zack on me with a paintball gun." Pushing herself up, she stuck her tongue out at the black-haired 2nd as he finger gunned at her with a quiet 'pew pew!'. Looking over at the silver-haired swordsman as he smoothly rose to his feet, she tilted her head as he looked around and then fell into step beside him as he started off in a direction. They walked in silence for several long minutes before he slowed and finally stopped.

Robin took a long moment to study him as he stared straight ahead, taking in the way his brow was just slightly furrowed. "... Something tells me you didn't ask me to come with you just for the exercise." 

"You..." Trailing off, he seemed determined to look anywhere but at her, and she quirked a brow before reaching up to tap her chin. 

"That bad, huh?" 

He tried again. "... You know all of us, nearly as well as we know each other." 

"I... Oh. You know, I never thought-... Am I being too familiar?" Frowning, she lowered her hand as her brows furrowed. "You guys have only known me for a few days. I don't mean to make anyone uncomfortable." 

"That is..." Chin lifting slightly as Sephiroth scanned the horizon, his frown matched hers before he shook his head. "... Not my intention, to imply such. It is the opposite, in fact. You are very honest, and speak very plainly. A comfortable, harmless presence." 

"Well... I mean I like to think that you and the others are smart enough to appreciate the truth even if it sounds surreal. Though, I worry that I might have told you too much, that in trying to avoid you going crazy by forewarning you, that I've set the process in motion." Rubbing the back of her head, Robin turned to follow his gaze and look around. "I like to think that you're tough enough to take it though. You're known for being an incredible strategist, which takes more than a little bit of mental strength." 

"You act very naturally with us. Many who know of what a Solider can do would be... Nervous. Skittish. I wanted to thank you, for your camaraderie. I know this has not been an easy transition."

"You don't have to thank me for treating you like a person, you know. But I get it." Reaching out, she lightly papped his shoulder, smiling as he slowly tilted his gaze towards her. 

"How much do you know. About my childhood."

Robin's smile evaporated as she lowered her hand. "... Nothing concrete. All that's technically marked down is that you were basically raised in Hojo's lab. I don't know about when you met Angeal or Genesis, or how you became friends with them. Just... Just that you were experimented on growing up, and didn't have what could be considered a 'normal' childhood. But there's lots of thoughts on what exactly happened, taken from Hojo's work ethic and personality, as well as your own."

He nodded slightly at that, just enough for her to note the movement. 

"Do you... Pity me?"

"That's... I do. No kid should have to go through that. But it doesn't make me judge you any particular way, just makes me want to give you a hug and set Hojo _literally_ on fire. It also makes me proud, because you could have turned out -way- worse by now. It takes a lot to push you over the deep end." She tilted her head, before quirking a brow. "You seem to think that all pity means the big 'I pity you ergo you're pathetic'. It doesn't, that's just an extreme. It can mean sympathy and empathy too."

Sephiroth hummed at that, eyes flitting down and then away as he reoriented slowly on the horizon. "... I think I can accept that." 

They stood there for another long, silent moment as she nodded before Robin stuffed her hands in her pants pockets. "Sssooo... I'm sensing a theme here. Where you want to talk about things you don't know how to, so you just don't. Or you prepare to but then can't find the words? Am I getting that right?"

A ghost of a smile eased his features out of the faint frown that had been growing. "Are you this perceptive because of my character study."

"I'm also pretty socially awkward myself. Looking at you is like looking at a mirror sometimes." At his skeptical glance, she lifted her hands, palms out. "You don't believe me? I talk when I'm _nervous_ but cautiously optimistic. But around people I don't know, good luck holding a conversation for more than a few seconds at a time. I've talked more in the, what. Three days? Four, that I've been here than I have in the last three months combined." 

"And you are confident that you know us." Quiet amusement was slowly filtering into his tone as she smiled sheepishly. 

"I feel like it. Which, I totally get it if it comes across as creepy. That... That is _not_ the intent at all. But it's... Also why I've been trying to be honest about myself, too. Because what I know about all of you could fill a book and all you guys know about me is that I'm weak, fragile, out of shape and Know Strange Things I Probably Shouldn't." 

"And Courageous. Perhaps not confident, but cautious." Sephiroth turned to properly face her, eyes intent on her face and his posture slowly growing less tense. "Strategic in your own way. Smart enough to to read a situation, and keep the Puppy from charging off." 

"Ehhhh..." Wincing and clearing her throat, it was Robin's turn to scan the horizon. "At the risk of going 'no you're wrong'... You're pretty far from the mark there." 

"Hmm." His pupils narrowed slightly as a smirk played about his lips. "I wonder." 

"Not that I'm trying to change the topic or anything," Said Robin, in a blatant attempt to change the topic. "But what was it that was bothering you? There was something else on your mind." 

Sephiroth's expression abruptly went a practiced kind of neutral as he turned away and studied the landscape. He remained silent for a long moment, before glancing down as she sat down and stretched out her legs. 

"Sorry. Been standing for so long my legs started to hurt." She offered him a sheepish grin, before patting the ground. "There's no obligation to tell me, you know. We can just sit out here, or continue walking. I only asked because you seemed like you were trying to find a way to say something but you didn't know how, or maybe... Maybe it's something that makes you uncomfortable? I'm trying to think of reasons why you might both want to and not want to talk about... Well, whatever it is. Should I guess? Or should I stop." 

He hummed softly, before slowly sinking down to the ground next to her. After mulling it over for a moment, he sighed quietly, and shifted to get more comfortable, stretching his legs out. "... When... The door first appeared..." 

Robin blinked before enlightenment struck and she cleared her throat, looking away from the Soldier 1st. "Ah. Something _really_ awkward then. I can't blame you." 

"Yes. Did..." Taking a slow, careful breath, Sephiroth looked up somewhat to study the clouds. "... I only noticed the door after I exited the shower." 

" _Really_ really awkward. I did? But I mean. When I realized _what_ and _who_ I was looking at, I beat a hasty retreat." 

"I thought... You were someone who broke into my apartment, trying to take pictures." The admittance came quietly, and tinged with just enough sheepishness of his own that she thought she might have imagined it until she glanced at him and noted the tip of his ear was pink. "I am sorry, about the sword. I didn't know." 

"You had every right to think that, and I'm sorry everything happened when it did. I can imagine what the paparazzi would do with a picture like that, and how uncomfortable it must have made you. _That_ was certainly not something I was expecting to have stamped into my memory, and was half of why I thought this all was... Y'know. Not real." Clearing her throat, Robin clasped her hands together and twiddled her thumbs, looking away once more. "In my defense, I resisted the urge to _oogle_."

Sephiroth chuckled quietly, before smoothly rising to his feet and offering a hand down to her. "As... Awkward as it is, at least the uncertainty no longer looms. You have managed to move past it. I will strive to do the same." 

"You're twenty two years old, Sephiroth. Or thereabouts, at least." Reaching up to accept his help to her feet, she shrugged. "It's remarkably normal to be alarmed or embarrassed when you find yourself unexpectedly 'hanging out' in front of a total stranger. I know I wouldn't have remained anything resembling calm." 

"Oh? What would you have done." Nodding towards their path forward, he started to walk and clasped his hands behind his back as she fell into step next to him. 

"Shrieked like a banshee, thrown something and shown you my ass as I ran back into the bathroom." 

He hummed thoughtfully at that, steering them towards their previous campsite. "Thank you. For resisting the urge."

"I don't like being catcalled, so I like to think others probably don't want unasked for things like that either. It's one thing if it's a friend you know who's joking around, or someone you're in a relationship with. It's a completely _other_ thing, when it's someone you don't know." Shrugging, she paused and blinked before quick-stepping to catch up the step she had fallen behind. "Hey, quick question on a completely different topic, so that we can stop talking about accidental peeping. Later on you can just call the enormous katana you use to your hand, but you've never actually done that, have you?"

"I have not." Sephiroth glanced at her, curiosity playing about the faint furrow of his brows. "It is something I would like to try. If I have these abilities as you say I do, I believe it would be better to master some of them. Flight, for example."

"I can imagine being able to just summon your sword with a thought would make carrying it around easier. Which, getting around to my actual question, I don't think I've seen you actually carry it? I know most Soldiers use the shoulder as an anchor point, but that blades got to be seven feet long, plus the hilt. You're never depicted with it sheathed. It's always in your hand or just... Absent." One brow lifted as she turned to peer at him, taking in the way he looked to the path they were taking and shrugged with one shoulder. 

"The Masamune has no sheath. Even at an angle, it is... Awkward, to carry at my shoulder. I had to ask Angeal to collect it from my quarters so that I could spar with it while here. Doorways can pose a problem as well." 

"Did you ever, I don't know. Consider a shorter sword?" 

"I have. However... None of them have ever felt the same." Lifting his hand, Sephiroth stared at the palm of his glove before slowly curling his fingers, as if imagining he held his weapon. "You might not understand. It is a comfortable thing." 

"With regards to a weapon? Probably not. It's something I'll see if I can't learn though, so that I can understand." Robin blinked and then winced as she took in the way the truck halves sat a few feet from one another. "... I'm surprised I didn't see anything from where we were." 

"Nothing exploded, and they neither scream nor shout. They rather... whisper, if I had to describe it." He crossed the small clearing, circling around the campfire to collect his sword, effortlessly pulling it free of the rock it was impaled in. "... I did not consider what might be an appropriate armament for you. Do you prefer a firearm, or a sword." 

"Neither? They're both heavy? If I ever actually fired a gun I would probably get overbalanced by the recoil and then drop the point and shoot myself in the foot. And a sword is..." She grimaced, before gesturing to the Masamune. "A giant piece of metal inviting people to hit me." 

"Have you ever wielded one?" Reversing his grip, Sephiroth turned and started to lead the way back to the cliff as she grimaced and fell into step behind him once more. 

"I mean, technically yes I guess. Growing up, me and a friend used to have stick fights pretending they were swords, but he got better at it than me and I told him he wasn't supposed to win. I don't remember us ever doing that again, after that. Otherwise I took a day trip with my class to a school a few hours away and we did archery and fencing there." Both of her hands came around in front of her, held low as if around the grip of a two handed sword. A moment of adjustment and she had her feet shoulder-width apart and the imaginary tip angled too far to the left. The silver-clad swordsman's brows both threatened to disappear into his hairline as he fought down a smile, watching her and slowing his pace so that she could catch up.

"Hmm. How did you do?"

"Better than average with archery, but that's also because I used to pretend I was a fantasy warrior and practiced shooting cardboard boxes in the back yard and longer 'hit the middle of the field' shots in a giant soccer field." Lowering her hands, she shrugged and then turned to the side, one hand going up with a dramatic flourish as she pretended to stab the air with the imaginary sword in her other hand. "The fencing though, I remember surprising the person because I tagged them first, but I didn't use any of the proper techniques so... Mixed results?" 

"A fantasy warrior." He tilted his head, smirking as she grumbled and looked away, pink tinging her cheeks. She folded her arms, shoulders hunching. 

"Yeah, I was _twelve_. Swords and sorcery and bows were all super cool."

"Were? What happened."

"I grew up and became disillusioned with the world. I-" Robin paused, frowning. "... I guess I don't have much right to tell you to not kill everyone, beyond saying not everyone deserves to die. I... Kind of hate my world too, and for less reason than you. Petty reasons, really. Well, _hate_ might be too strong a word..." 

"That remains to be seen. What are your reasons." Sephiroth 

"Ehh, I don't feel comfortable discussing them. Not right now, at least. Aren't we supposed to be patrolling, staying on the lookout for things that could kill me?" A forced smile settled across her features as she started to jog ahead, partially turning to wave at him. "Well? C'mon. Cardio awaits!"

* * *

In the few short minutes it had taken her to jog around to the slope that led up to their current camp, Robin was breathing hard as if she had run a mile. She almost hated Sephiroth for the fact that he was entirely unruffled even as she wiped the beginnings of sweat from her brow and flopped down, barely catching the conversation they had returned to. 

"-just saying, it doesn't make _sense_. Flying with a wing on only one side would just make you sink to the side that doesn't have one."

"I'm pretty sure it's also partially levitation and that the wing itself only flexes and moves out of some instinctive reflex." She called out, staring at the sky as she caught her breath. 

"See? She agrees with me." Somewhere out of her line of sight, the red-clad swordsman clapped his hand against his thigh.

"I still say these powers are potentially dangerous. What if they make us more susceptible to Jenova's influence." Angeal's tone was level, if tinged with a frown, and Sephiroth hummed thoughtfully from where he had joined them. 

"I don't know that that's the case. Otherwise, why would Hojo have set Sephiroth up the way he did with the information in the mansion? And you never seemed inclined to go in or check anything out." Groaning as she spoke, Robin propped herself up and looked over towards Genesis. "And Angeal showed absolutely no mental changes. In fact, Lazard inherited his urge to help _save_ you."

"I thought you said the degradation made people more aggressive." The red-headed 1st narrowed his eyes at her, prompting her to roll her eyes.

"It made _you_ more aggressive. Though, I think you're a little less inclined to just accept your death than Angeal might be. He's the self-sacrificing noble sort, after all. Besides, he didn't get it. You and all the copies did."

"What is the dividing factor." Sephiroth sat on one of the shallow ledges, producing a small case from a pocket and retrieving some supplies for his sword. "What caused one genetic structure to degrade, but not the other." 

They all thought about it for a moment, before Angeal's head came up slowly. "... My mother. Her cells were transplanted into you, and both yours and my cells were transplanted into the copies. I inherited mine from a natural birth, similar to Sephiroth."

"Then why don't me or Cloud degrade." Zack frowned, starting to pace restlessly. "Robin? Any ideas?"

"I've got nothing. Though, Sephiroth's clones didn't degrade either. You and Cloud both get Sephiroth's cells, instead of Jenova's."

"Then maybe... Sephiroth's cells are what would work?" The bkach-haired 2nd reached up to run his fingers through his hair. 

Robin rubbed her temples as she sat up properly, legs crossing. "There's something we're not seeing. Something I've either forgotten or that wasn't explained."

"I don't want to risk mutating you into anything Robin has described." The silver-haired swordsman frowned, using a toothbrush to remove some of the dirt in the hilt of his sword. "We need a specialist."

"I wish Professor Ghast hadn't been killed by Hojo. It just leaves Hollander and Hojo." Nose wrinkling, she paused before perking up. "Oh. Oh! But there _is_ someone else. Your mom. Your _actual_ mom. She doesn't seal herself in crystal until after you try and fuse with the lifestream."

Everyone went utterly still at that, before all eyes settled on Sephiroth as he slowly lifted his gaze from his sword to frown at her. "... Do... You think she would be willing. To help us." 

"Provided you're willing to risk the emotional stuff that's probably going to come with it, I think she would be. She seemed... Well, really remorseful. She tried to kill herself out of guilt and grief after all." 

"And Jenova's cells didn't let her." Genesis frowned, leaning back on his hands and stretching his legs out. "Did they control her and stop her?"

"Ohh, I didn't think of that. It's never clearly explained." Robin frowned, dropping her hands onto her lap. "When I first found her I had the option of telling her that Sephiroth's dead or not I... think? I know I did, at least, because it seemed less cruel. And then after that... She disappears, leaving behind Vincent's best weapon. Sometime over the next few years she seals herself in crystalized mako and just keeps saying she's sorry in a very faint, muffled way."

"Where is this... Crystal cave." The silver-haired swordsman dropped his gaze to continue his idle work. 

"Not that far out from Nibelheim. It's in the horseshoe shaped mountains between there and the Gold Saucer. Northern edge. Sephiroth," Robin's frown deepened. "... I don't know what to say. Half of me is excited at the prospect of you getting to meet your actual mom, but I'm also worried about the concentration of Jenova cells that would be there." 

"If he's going, I'm going too." Genesis turned a critical eye on the General. "It's my body, after all."

"I don't think that's a bad idea, but I also think you're all still reliant on Shinra for transportation. I know you were talking about flying?" She gestured between the frowning Soldiers. "It would be a type of freedom, and you'd be able to play hooky easier. You could go whenever you wanted and be back whenever you wanted too."

"You claimed that I mastered this ability to shapeshift." The black-haired 1st uncrossed and crossed his arms, turning to properly face her. "Genesis and I were the two who unlocked this ability to fly first, and that it's something the three of us have the potential for."

"Yeah. I don't _think_ Hollander does anything to the two of you that might help it along?" Brows furrowing, Robin grimaced and then dug the palms of her hands into her eyes, rubbing them in circles. "Gods there's just... So much. My brain feels about ready to start oozing out my ears." 

"Then I agree. That would be the best place for us to start." He nodded, before looking towards the others as Sephiroth frowned. The silver-haired swordsman started to pack up his maintenance kit.

"All Soldiers are required to undergo regular tests to monitor their physical and mental states. Will this... Change us, in any discernable way." 

"Seph brings up a good point. They take samples of our blood. If we start manifesting wings, will it leave traces that they can find." Genesis shook his head, sighing and pushing himself to his feet. "That's not something that I believe Robin can answer." 

"You're right. It's not. I have absolutely no idea." She squinted at him, before stiffly hauling herself up and crossing the distance. Folding her arms, she leaned in and peered up at him, searching his expression as he quirked a brow at her. "Legends shall speak, of a sacrifice at world's end. My friend, do you fly away now?"

"Infinite in mystery is the gift of the goddess." The red-clad swordsman folded his arms, tilting his face away as he side-eyed her. They were silent for a moment before she reached and reached up to tousle his hair. 

"There is no hate, only joy, for you are beloved by the goddess, Hero of the Dawn. But all that awaits you is a somber morrow, no matter which way the winds blow."

Reaching to push her hand away, Genesis smiled slightly and then put a finger to her forehead, giving her a light shove that had her taking a step back. "Even if the morrow is barren of promises, nothing shall forestall my return."

"Gen, no." Angeal stepped in, reaching to snag him by the upper arm. "If you desert, then everything she said will come to pass just might." 

"You don't know that." Pulling free of the black-haired 1st's grip, Genesis backed away a few steps. "That wasn't the plan anyways." 

"Then what is." Sephiroth laid his sword aside, rising smoothly to his feet as he studied the red-headed swordsman. 

"He wants to be the first one to try for his wing, so that if they catch any hints of it during his evaluation the two of you can bust in and rescue him if he can't escape on his own. And if they don't, then it would be safe for the two of you to try for your own." Robin took a few steps to go and sit on an unoccupied ledge. "It's not a _bad_ idea, and it gives us time to work on getting the Turks in line. There's also the war with Wutai still going on. This would probably be the safest time for him to take this path, because if he shows 'growth' in his genetics and don't detain him, then they'll want to send him to the front. Wutai's only an ocean away from Nibelheim and the Crystal Cave, much closer than Midgar."

"See?" Genesis crossed his arms, looking a mix of impressed and annoyed. "If she can figure it out, then why can't you two."

"Probably because I made all of that up." She tucked her elbow onto her knee and propped her chin up on her hand, quirking an amused eyebrow. "You absolutely _were_ thinking about deserting, you overdramatic Hero. My plan's _loads_ better though, and you know it, so I knew you'd play it off as if it was yours."


	8. Day 5 & 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Headcanon: SOLDIER's have a higher metabolism to support their body's greater use of energy and mako, and need to eat a lot to compensate.

They returned to Midgar Sunday just after the sun went down. It was a long walk, made only shorter by the fact that they still had the security uniforms and Zack's 'contact' had supplied them all with fake ID's so that they could get past the checks along the Line. Robin was still exhausted by the time they left the train, exited the station, and started towards the building at the center of the plate. It was why when Zack peeled off to return to his quarters and the other three ushered her into her rooms, that she didn't question where any of the furniture had come from. Monday morning, however, when she woke up on a bed full of aches to the sound of faint movement outside of her room, that she hauled herself up to investigate with all of the disoriented confusion she could muster. 

The glowing red numbers of the clock read a few minutes after six am. Flicking on the light revealed Sephiroth as he cringed away from the abrupt brightness where he was ransacking the kitchen for something edible and two unconscious Soldiers. Genesis was stretched out on the couch she didn't remember, with Angeal rousing and blinking where he was reclined in the armchair that sat kitty corner to it. 

"It's too _early_ , go back to _bed_." The red-clad swordsman groaned from the couch, rolling to stuff his face against the back and throwing an arm over his head. 

"Sorry, my bad. We get a hotel or something?" Flicking the light back out, Robin blinked at the two faintly glowing eyes that oriented on her from the kitchen and snickered, the sound ruined by how she yawned part way through. 

"These are your quarters. I had them furnished, while we were away. It is safe, there was no sign of a... Turkish touch." Sephiroth's voice was a murmur from across the room as he turned back to his attempt at breakfast. 

"Shit, really?" A little more awake, she squinted through the darkness and tried to remember what it had looked like in the brief flash of light. A whine of complaint reminded her where the couch was.

" _Goddess_ , some of us were on watch until _three in the morning_." 

"Take the bed, Genesis. I'm up now, and probably won't get back to sleep for a bit yet." Reaching to feel for the arm of the couch, she grinned in the darkness at the disgruntled grunt that answered her, leaning away as he dragged himself to his feet and circled around her. When the door clicked shut, she bit her lip and then squinted towards where she vaguely recalled an armchair had sat. "... Angeal?" 

"Don't worry about me." Two faintly glowing eyes opened in roughly the right spot, before one of them was briefly blocked. "I slept the night. It's safe to turn the light back on, I think." 

"Got it. Brace yourself, Sephiroth." 

"Hmm." 

Robin spent a moment feeling along the wall before flicking the switch she found. Blinking a few times in the sudden brightness, she looked back and blinked at the room. The walls were grey, the ceiling painted white, and the carpet was short and barely a shade darker than the walls themselves. The furniture reminded her of what Sephiroth had in his rooms, which made sense when she thought about it, considering he was the one who had ordered it. A coat rack stood by the door, beside a low rack for shoes that already held four pairs. 

Angeal was still in the armchair, rubbing one side of his face as he stifled a yawn with his other hand. He looked comfortable, and watched her idly as she perused the contents of the living room. "What do you think."

"I think that Sephiroth has _a_ taste in furniture. But also that it certainly doesn't match mine." Smiling at the black-haired 1st, she shifted to sit properly on the couch before looking over to the half-wall that divided the kitchen from the living room. The Silver General looked thoughtful as he poured another bowl of cereal. "My room was more comfy."

"Your room... Was a disaster."

"Hey! I _lived_ there, thank you very much." Her tone was teasingly chiding as she folded her arms and pouted. 

"There were more dead soldiers on your desk than I have ever had on mine at any singular time in my entire career. They are copies of my furniture, because I put in a request for replacements for my own, claiming that I had accidentally damaged them." Circling around the low wall, he collected both bowls and brought one over to Angeal. Moving to sit at the other end of the couch, Sephiroth sighed and set his own bowl down on the low glass table. 

"All joking aside, I appreciate it you know. All of this. You guys taking turns to make sure I don't get killed in my sleep and all."

"We appreciate your bravery." The black-haired 1st lowered his breakfast for a moment, glancing to the General. "Zack is going to be requisitioning materia on her behalf today." 

"I am aware." Nodding slowly, Sephiroth idly stirred the flakes of his cereal, frowning faintly. "Genesis will see about Kunsel requisitioning lighter protective materials so that Robin will have something to wear that can help her be more survivable. See to it that word is leaked to the Turks that you are attempting to confirm the existence of a man with the surname 'Valentine'. I will run interference with Lazard." 

"Wait... Lazard-" Robin paused, before looking sheepish as she pushed herself up and headed for the kitchen. "You know, I don't quite know how, but I was working under the impression he was already dead." 

"If he attempts anything, I will leverage the fact that anyone with the rank of Soldier 1st can veto a mission." The silver-haired swordsman smirked at her before settling back comfortably on the couch, bringing his cereal with him as he started to eat. 

"Genesis is also going to check in with our contact, regarding your battery. With any luck, they had some success." Angeal reached for the lever on the side of the armchair, putting the footrest down and tucking his feet against the carpeted floor. 

"Great. That covers what all of you are doing today. What's my game plan?" Returning with her own bowl of cereal, Robin sat back down on the couch so that she could eat. 

"Mh." Taking a moment to finish his current mouthful of the cereal flakes, Sephiroth lowered his bowl. "That would have fallen to Angeal, however his goal for the day complicated this. As such, you will remain with him for the morning, and then shadow Zack. He will return here with you, so that you can spend the afternoon practicing until the rest of us return." 

"Got it."

"You know a lot about the Turks." The black-haired 1st frowned, setting down his empty cereal bowl. "How long do you believe it will take them to act on the information."

"That's a good question. I think, because Veld is still in charge, that he should try and contact you pretty quickly. There's two ways I see it going. One, he sets someone to watch you and then break into your office or rooms to get whatever information you have, or two..." 

"He approaches himself." Sephiroth reached to stack his empty bowl on top of Angeal's, standing and moving to return both to the kitchen. 

"Right." Robin nodded. "I think that one's more likely, because it was his partner. So of the divisions in Shinra... Remind me what they're all called again?"

"Advanced Weaponry, headed by Scarlet. Research and Development, headed by Hojo. Urban planning, with Tuesti." The silver-haired swordsman recounted from the kitchen, before stripping off his gloves and stooping to root through the lower cupboards for some dish soap. "Space and aeronautics is under the control of Palmer, Public Security is run by Heidegger, and then Lazard for Soldier and Veld for the Turks."

"Alright. So the ones we can theoretically count on as allies would be Reeve, Lazard and Veld. I'd _say_ it's about even except for the fact that anyone who lets on that they know about Deepground gets _deleted_ and the President does whatever the hells he wants." Reaching forward to set her half-empty bowl of cereal down on the table and push it aside, she frowned and outlined a square with her fingers against the glass. "These are the pieces inside the box. We need to think outside of it. Palmer is an idiot and incompetent. Scarlet and Heidegger are the secondary problems. Hojo and the President are the primary problems. Lazard's his illegitimate son, so that could be leverage, but Rufus is _ridiculously_ smart and good at keeping alive and keeping himself in power." 

"A visualization technique?" Angeal leaned in, watching the way she tapped points both outside and inside of the space she had marked. "You sound like you're thinking about how to take Shinra apart."

"It's a thought." She admitted with a shrug, drumming her fingers as she stared at where she had smudged the glass. "It's mostly run by people who are -literally- killing the planet, know they are and just don't _care_ because they think they'll find some promised land rich with mako for their Neo Midgar project. Which, I want to make it a point to lay it out right now, that promised land? It's the lifestream. It's where the Cetra went when they _died,_ not a different place."

"I doubt Lazard would be interested in staging a coup." Sephiroth frowned, laying the now clean dishes out on a towel to dry before turning and leaning against the half-wall. "You mentioned that Deepground took out the 13th as a test of their skill. Do you have any recollection of when this occurred in relation?"

"No, sorry. I do know that the Tsviets are probably a thing by now. They started being 'finished' by the time the war ended. Weiss is only supposed to take control of Deepground in..." She narrowed her eyes, smudging her thumbs against the glass as she puffed out her cheeks. "... A... Decade? I should know this. Dirge, one year, Advent, two years. Then, fourish years to Sephiroth's break down. One ish? So... A little less than a decade?" 

"A problem to work through later. In the meantime, I think you should know. The 13th disappeared years ago."

"Robin." Angeal frowned at her, before settling back in his chair. "You are certain, that Veld will turn against Hojo."

"Pretty sure, yeah. I wasn't able to play much of Before Crisis so a lot of what I know about it is second or third hand or just stuff I found while researching Deepground and the Turks. I _do_ know he doesn't know his daughter's still alive, worst case in the event he's already made contact with Vincent."

"Elfe, you said her name was. The current or future leader of Avalanch, with the materia in her hand." The black-haired 1st tipped his chin down, looking thoughtful. "Another problem for another day, but that is the guarantee."

"He defects for her, yeah." Robin nodded, before making a face as she picked up her cereal, intent on finishing it. "Hojo reported her dead. But leveraging that other people know about his former partner is the first step. To catch a fish, you need to wait for the first nibble before you set the hook." 

* * *

Sephiroth left at nearly seven in the morning, a full two hours before Angeal and Robin (dressed once more in her more comfortable regular black pants, a short sleeved shirt and the desaturated green hooded sweater) made their way down the fifteen floors to the offices. She spent the next three hours helping to sort paperwork until a tired Zack arrived with a grin and 'rescued' her. From there, it was lunch and then five long hours of practice.

When she wasn't casting with the materia, he prompted her to walk around or stretch. It was only her own brand of pleading that convinced him to break for the evening meal an hour early. She waited at the door of the stairwell on the 2nd's floor after he ordered take out, and leaned back against the wall until another presumable 2nd approached her. 

"Hey." He raised his hands, palm out towards her. "I'm Kunsel. The General pulled me into his office about a half an hour ago and told me there was something you needed me to do, and that I could find you on the 1st's or 2nd's floor."

Robin tilted her head, taking in as much as she could about the person in front of her before laughing. Removing one hand from her pocket, she rested it on the lever for the fire alarm. "Nice try Reno. How can I help the Turks today?" 

The helmeted figure frowned, before tilling his chin down. "I'm-"

"- _Not_ Kunsel, that's for sure. I could pick you out in a lineup blindfolded. Your jaw's similar to Kunsel's, but he's got more bicep where you've got more forearm. So what do you want. Here to kidnap me?" 

"Shit yo, how the _fuck_ do you know that." Bewildered, Reno reached to tip his helmet up, staring at her as she grinned. 

"The same way I know that you're _probably_ fast enough to stop me from pulling the fire alarm, but definitely not fast enough to intercept the pre-written text on my phone in my pocket. Comes down to how loudly you want reinforcements to come for my ass to keep you from taking me. You're not good enough to stop _both,_ and if your partner behind the door there cracks it even the slightest bit more, both is what I'm going to do. Hello by the way, Rude." Casually, Robin nodded towards the ever so slightly open door to the stairwell. 

"I don't suppose you'd just come with us, miss." The red-head tugged the helmet back down, tucking his hands on his hips as she shook her head. "Well _shit_."

"Any other day I'd _love_ to get taken in by the Turks, believe me, but there's complications. You're welcome to wait here for the next fiveish minutes though. Or, better yet, go and smuggle Veld in. That would... Actually be really helpful. Consider it a cordial invitation. I'm guessing you're here looking for someone to squeeze in regards to Soldier's interest in the last name 'Valentine'." 

"If you know who we are, then you know we can't answer that. _Fuck_. How though!?" 

"Knowing who you are, you know I can't answer that. If you ever _did_ manage to drag me in, I'd have lost a valuable card." She smiled, catching Zack's approach as he hustled over with a stack of takeout containers. "There's my chaperone. You'd better get out've here." 

Reno cursed under his breath before hauling the door beside her open and beating a hasty retreat. Robin casually leaned back against the wall and watched the door close, nodding to the black-haired 2nd as he looked back and forth between her and the door. 

"Sorry I took so long. You okay?"

The door clicked shut, and she wheezed as she slumped in place, removing her hand from the fire alarm. "I just... My heart's beating a mile a minute. I just _bluffed_ a Turk and his partner."

"It didn't look like a bluff. It looked like you were ready to pull the fire alarm." Zack frowned, staring at the door with narrowed eyes.

"Yeah, but I also told him I had a pre-typed text on my phone in my pocket, ready to go. When, y'know. My phone's battery is with Genesis or his contact. I also told him to consider smuggling Veld in." Pushing off from the wall, she grimaced and looked towards the door. "I'd offer to carry some of that up to the room, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to need my arms for the stairs."

* * *

The half hour that it took for six pm to roll around felt like it took forever. Zack and Robin were holed up in her room, windows locked and all blinds pulled shut. Because of this, it came as some surprise that the first door that opened was the one to her bedroom as Genesis sauntered out, bleary eyed and yawning. 

"Were... Were you in there the whole time?" Robin peered at him from where she was curled up in the armchair at an angle, knees braced against the arm. "Sleeping?"

"Off and on. I was out for an hour just before noon, retrieving this. Afterwards I returned and went back to sleep." Stretching, the red-clad swordsman dropped his arms at his sides to fish out a small box that he set down on the table and slid over to her. Eyeing the food, he then made for the pile of containers on the table. "Ah. Butter chicken should be a good place to start." 

"What is it." Uncoiling from the armchair, she reached out and worked the box open, blinking at the contents. It looked like a phone charger with some electrical tape on the end and a thin, empty metal frame in place of the pin it otherwise would have had. "Is this... A charger for the battery?"

"It is. I'm to take a picture of the port on your device, so that our contact can make something for it. I'll get it later." Plopping down on the end of the couch, he tilted his head to the side to crack his neck loudly before working the container on his lap open. 

"Best news I've had all day. By the way, who exactly has key cards for my door?" Quirking a brow, she watched as Genesis mulled the question over, stabbing a piece of chicken with a fork. 

"Should be only another 1st or Zack. Our cards work for each other's doors."

"Right. Okay, that's reassu-" She paused as someone knocked politely on the door. Glancing at the other two, she curled back up on the armchair as she stuffed the small box away and focused, expression going blank as a plate-patterned dome shimmered around her and then faded from view. Zack nodded as she put the barrier around herself and then went to go and stand behind the door. 

"Who iiis it~?" 

"Yo, I've got an invitation here from a young lady." Reno's voice answered him. Genesis narrowed his eyes and looked at Robin as she smiled sheepishly. 

"I might have sort've invited Veld. I didn't get a chance to tell you. Zack texted Angeal though, and asked him to tell you and Sephiroth."

"I'm sorry. I'm under strict orders to make sure she doesn't get kidnapped by men in suits." To his credit, the black-haired 2nd certainly _sounded_ sorry, before perking up. "Oh! General Sephiroth, Sir. Understood." 

He unlocked the door, opened it, and saluted smartly. Stepping aside, he held his salute as Sephiroth and Angeal passed him. Reno, Veld and a Turk Robin didn't immediately recognize followed until she took in the fact that his hair was orange and he was wearing sunglasses silently filed in after them. Rude stepped in just before Zack closed the door, and he locked it with a click that echoed through the room. 

She hadn't had many opportunities to see the Soldiers acting _professional,_ per say. Which was why she found herself fascinated with the way Sephiroth sat down next to Genesis and gracefully collected one of the pasta dishes for himself. Angeal also collected one, sitting on the other side of the General, though he left his unopened for the time being. He simply watched the line of Turks as the silver-haired swordsman ate for five minutes with ethereal methodology and the utmost neatness.

Genesis, for his part, lounged at an angle, butt firmly in the corner and his legs crossed at the knee. He had an air of refined elegance that the butter chicken failed to ruin. Robin felt fortunate that this seemed to be how they composed themselves when something _dangerous_ was in the same room as them, as opposed to the way they had reacted to her unexpected arrival. 

It was only after he finished his pasta (some sort of an alfredo affair, she realized) that Sephiroth intoned an idle 'At ease'. Zack, who had saluted the entire time, relaxed and moved to stand at the right corner of her chair, hands clasped behind his back. Setting the plastic fork and styrofoam container aside, feline green eyes were lazily lifted to focus on Veld. 

"Vincent Valentine is, alive." 

There was an almost imperceptible twitch in a muscle along Veld's jaw.

"My operative knows where he is, and has other pertinent information for you regarding sensitive topics." 

The leader of the Turks glanced towards her, and Robin waggled her brows at him. Trying to read his expression was harder than Sephiroth's, but she imagined she could see the faintest frown in the furrow of his brows. Slowly, he panned his gaze back to the Silver General. 

"I will cut to the chase. I am a very patient man, and you may have noticed that I am very protective of the people in my employ." Sephiroth tilted his head ever so slightly, pupils dilating. "We have been at war with Wutai for seven years, over the right to install a mako reactor. Recently, I learned a great many distressing things. I would like the cooperation of the Turks in my current endeavor, and in exchange I will give you the cooperation of my Soldiers with regards to your previous partner and the topic of the experiments performed on your daughter." 

Reno's eyes widened at that, and he visibly fought the urge to side-eye Veld as the orange-haired Turk on their leader's other side let out a low whistle. The brown-haired Turk remained motionless, beyond an ever so slight dip of his chin. It was fascinating, Robin thought to herself, the way he held his composure. 

"What, exactly, is your current endeavor." 

"There is a sickness in this world. Choking it. Corroding it. It is powered by the greed of the short-sighted. I am... Tired, of being a weapon that will eventually be told to kill my brothers." An ever so faint smile tipped the corners of the Silver General's lips upwards. "It is not my intention to turn to defection. I believe, however, that something has to change."

"I will consider your words carefully." Veld inclined his head just enough for it to count, before turning his head towards where Robin remained curled on the armchair. A polite smile was offered to her, as he inclined his head once more. "I would be very interested in learning how you came into the information you allegedly have, miss." 

"That can be arranged at the leisure of my commanding officer, Verdot. Until then, I'm not at liberty to discuss anything." She gave him her best customer service smile, and nodded towards Sephiroth. "My unit and I report directly to him, after all."

"Understood. Until then." Polite smile still in place, the leader of the Turks looked towards the silver-haired swordsman and offered another marginal incline of his head before turning and leading the other Turks to the door. Unlocking it, they filed out one by one, closing the door behind them. Silence reigned in the room before Sephiroth slowly pushed himself to his feet. Slowly, nigh-silently, he padded towards the door and then twisted where the handle met the wood, something quietly cracking in his grasp. That done, he leaned to put his ear against the door and listen for a moment, only to crack the door open and repeat the motion on the other side. 

Closing it once more, he turned and paced back to the table to dump the remains of two particularly thin metal rings that would have otherwise blended in perfectly with the metal of the latching mechanism onto the glass. After a moment of dusting off his gloves he turned a smirk on Robin, pupils narrowing to thin slits. 

"They are gone. Well done." 

She wheezed, sprawling and letting her concentration on the barrier fade. Beside her, Zack relaxed and turned to give her a giant thumbs up, even as Genesis grumbled and reached for another container of takeout. It was all the cue Angeal needed to open his own and start to dig in. 

"I just wish I'd had a little more _warning_." The red-headed swordsman grumbled, relaxing to more comfortably lounge, prodding some of the ravioli he had ended up with. 

"I didn't expect them to _actually_ go and get Veld right then and there! I must've unnerved Reno more than I'd thought." Expression souring, Robin shifted to sort through the containers and snag an alfredo pasta for herself. Sephiroth eyed it for a moment, before reaching out to tug it free from her grasp. 

"You accelerated our plans, when we don't actually have one yet. You get the penalty salad." Said salad was fished out of the pile and set down in front of her, causing her expression to sour further. "What, exactly, did I miss with the Turks. The text that Zack sent was... Uninformative."

The dark-haired 2nd gave him a sheepish look from where he had sat down on the floor and was chowing down on his own spaghetti. "Sorry."

"Okay, so we took a break a bit early. I figured that fifteen minutes for him to take the elevator down to pick up a delivery of food and come back up would be a small enough window for safety. _Apparently_ I was wrong. Reno approached me pretending to be Kunsel." Reaching for the container, she hunched her shoulders and made a quietly disgruntled noise at the utter lack of visible croutons. "I've spent too long staring at the Turks to not be able to recognize them though. I stalled him by bluffing with the fire alarm I'd parked by, and saying I had a pre-typed text on my phone, that I knew I could do both at the same time and he could only stop one. And that if his partner opened the door any more, I'd follow through." 

A little packet of croutons appeared in Sephiroth's grasp, and she perked up as he set it down on top of the container. "Continue."

"Right. So he was really baffled that I knew who he was? And asked if I wouldn't be willing to just go with him. I told him I couldn't, but if he wanted to wait there with me he was more than welcome to. And then sort've... I thought he'd carry word back to Veld that I'd be willing to talk to him, in the event he tried to have me _violently_ kidnapped? So I said he could bring Veld by."

A plastic fork was tucked next to the little packet of croutons before Sephiroth reclaimed his own fork and sat down between the other two 1st's, working open his pasta. "Which then led to the current circumstances. I see. Impressive improvisation. You also confirmed without a doubt that you are not the singular resource at my disposal that likely knows this information, and that you report directly to me." 

"Well, I've literally seen you come back from the dead. So I'm pretty sure that even if something happened to you, you'd be able to come back. Not that I'm not worried, but it felt the safer bet than Genesis, considering we don't yet know how to cure his degradation if it kicks in. Angeal's too straight laced to have a spec ops espionage group under his command. No offense." An apologetic smile was offered to the black-haired 1st, and he shook his head and finished his mouthful of spaghetti. 

"None taken, someone here has to be honourable and it certainly isn't Genesis. You seemed surprised to see one of them, though." Angeal lifted a hand and gestured to his hair. "The one with the sunglasses."

"Yeah. Him. He's a bit of a loose canon, and used to work with an anti-Shinra faction. He was _literally_ known as the 'Death God of the Battlefield', or as the 'Legendary Turk'. He's one've their special agents. His preferred weapon if I'm remembering right are bombs." Peeling the plastic lid off of the container, Robin sighed and dumped in the croutons, using the fork to stir the salad around a bit. "Fricken... Penalty salad."

"You had a pretty good poker face otherwise." The red-clad swordsman pointed his fork towards her, looking thoughtful. "Seph, I think we should start prompting Soldiers to go around armed within the compound again. Anyone can physically lift the swords, but only a Soldier can lift it and flourish it without straining. It would make future infiltration attempts that much harder on the Turk's part."

"Hmm. I agree. I also intend to recall all units save those already deployed on missions to the compound and then spread word among the ranks to start explaining things in waves. Not too much at a time. Just enough that if it starts getting leaked, we can determine when and from there, who." Leaning back, the Silver General looked thoughtfully at one of the walls. "Robin. How much progress have you made with your materia practice." 

"Mm? Mh." Finishing her mouthful of salad, she grinned and gave him a thumbs up. "I've doubled the number of times I can cast, from three to six, before I get too tired to do it." 

"Tomorrow morning I will settle my work for the day and pass on my orders. In the afternoon, I will return and supervise your practice." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please keep in mind. The story is set in 1999 in the timeline, which makes Zack fifteen. Sephiroth, Genesis and Angeal are all believed to have been born in 1980, which makes all of them nineteen.  
> Being boys, none of them corrected her on their ages, and Sephiroth doesn't actually know how old he is in this fic.


	9. Day 6 & 7

Sephiroth, she was quickly coming to learn, liked to arrive at work ridiculously early. She had suspicions when she marked the time he left the day before as six thirty, but didn't expect to need that information until she realized that with _Angeal_ standing guard for the night, it meant that she had cycled through to the Silver General's watchful care. It _also_ meant that as soon as everyone had eaten, the black-haired 1st had dismissed Zack to get some sleep and told her to clock in for the night as well. She was going to need it, he said.

She agreed, if she was going to have to be up at six in the morning while she was still trying to get used to the difference in time between where she had been a week ago, and where she was now.

Still, when Robin finished stacking and packing trash into the garbage, she was pleasantly surprised to find that she was utterly _exhausted_ , which made going to sleep that much easier. She half expected her bed to smell like body glitter and wine with the amount of time Genesis had apparently slept in it, but if it did she didn't register it too much. The moment her head hit the pillow, she was out like a light.

This didn't stop her from being disoriented when she was eventually woken up by the sound of someone clearing their throat from the doorway. A disoriented, incoherent sound answered it as she groggily shifted and cracked an eye open, peering at the glowing red numbers of the clock on the bed stand. Robin didn't bother trying to stop the tortured groan when she realized it read a depressing quarter after four. 

"... Robin." 

She curled, pulling the pillow over her head and muttering a string of disjointed syllables. A quiet sigh answered her, a leather coat creaked quietly, and she settled along with the silence that fell. It didn't last long, the hair on the back of her neck slowly standing on end as the feeling of being _watched_ pervaded her being. An unsatisfied grunt escaped her, before she wiggled and rolled, shifting to stare at the door. 

Two faintly glowing green eyes stared back at her at a distance, slowly blinking. 

"... Go _weh_..."

"You should be getting ready to go."

"Nnnh." Whining, she rolled to put her back to the door once more, trying her hardest to ignore Sephiroth. After a moment, leather creaked once more and she felt the faintest flicker of hope that he might have _left_ as she slowly counted to ten. Very carefully, as quietly as she could, she raised her head to look back towards the door. 

Two faintly glowing green eyes stared at her from less than a foot away. A startled sound sputtered out of her as she frantically grabbed for the pillow and then swung, completely missing as he leaned back just enough to avoid it. The movement tangled her in the blankets, and she struggled for a moment before realizing she had ended up too close to the edge and toppled onto the floor with a disheartened grunt. 

There was a very faint sound of an amused huff from the Soldier 1st as he rather deliberately walked loud enough for her to hear away from the bed, back towards the door, before murmuring a quiet warning. "Mind your eyes. I am going to turn the light on." 

"... Don't you, I dunno. Work at seven?" Grumbling, she curled into a ball and grunted as he flicked the switch and flooded the room with light. 

"Admittedly, I've been arriving an hour later than I tend to prefer. If I plan to get enough done to free up my afternoon, I will need both your assistance, and some extra time." 

"But that'd... _Seriously?_ You work a twelve hour day, five days a fricken week?" Uncurling and blinking, Robin started working to untangle herself from her accidental cocoon. Sitting up as she did, she squinted over to where the silver-haired swordsman had returned with a bowl of cereal, reaching for it as he crouched down to hand it to her. "Thank's, I guess."

"Part of it is logistics and management for the war, as well as overseeing reports on troop movements. There is also the matter of training. I can't leave you unguarded, which means it becomes necessary for you to come with me." A smirk played about his lips as he smoothly straightened. "Today... I have something planned for you, as well. Hurry." 

"Somehow, I've got a bad feeling about this." Grimacing, she wolfed down her breakfast and left the bowl on the bedstand. Shooing him out of her room, she closed the door so that she could change out of her pajamas and into her spare set of clothes, exiting the room a few minutes later with a yawn. "Alright, alright. I'm upright."

"Good. Come." Opening the door to her apartment, Sephiroth waited for her to wobble closer before ushering her out into the wide common area that dominated the center of the floor and then over to the training room. Swiping his card, he waited for her to step through the open doors before following her in and swiping his card once more. Punching a code into the panel next to it, steam hissed around the door before he pulled his mobile out of his pocket and started tapping away there, too. 

Robin wrinkled her nose as she caught sight of the weapon racks gathered nearby. A pair of crates flanked them, one on each end, and she gave the Silver General her best unhappy look, shoulders slumped and all. It did nothing but get him to smirk and then look back down at what he was doing until the world around them fuzzed and became a large field with a running track around the outer edge. Sunlight poured down from above, and she heaved a sigh as several targets materialized at a variety of ranges. 

"It's _four thirty_ in the _morning_. And you said we were doing materia practice after lunch. _And_ Zack said this wasn't going to be bootcamp."

"You sound like Genesis." Moving to stand next to her, he closed his phone and tucked it back into his pocket, nodding towards the weapon racks. "You mentioned archery. I want two things. One, for you to show me how it works. Two... I want you to try and shoot a target before I get to it. The other weapons, swords and firearms, they are optional in the event you want to try anything." 

"Look, my chances of being able to hit anything are _slim to none._ "

"I am counting on it. We will not be here long." He nodded his head to the other side of the weapon racks, and she grumbled as she padded around to look at the bows arrayed there. 

"Well, first off, there's different poundage to bows. A twenty pound recurve bow was the max that I ever used. I don't know how to tell that amount by looking at them." Squinting as she rubbed her face, Robin went and picked the lightest bow there. It was green, and she tucked one end between her legs as she grabbed the dangling end of the string. "Let me see if I remember how to do this, and if I'm strong enough."

"What does the poundage refer to? It is unlikely to mean the weight of the bow itself." 

Bending the bow, she hummed and took a moment to loop the other end of the string over the end of the bow, making sure it settled into the notch. Picking it up, she pulled on the string for a moment and shrugged. "Tensile strength of the string in weight, maybe? I'm not exactly sure, but the higher the poundage the harder it is for me to draw. Alright, step one done. Two, ammunition. So, the arrow flexes as it gets fired? Which means it wibble-wobbles through the air. Seems like shooting anything straight would be impossible, right? And unless they're industrially made, no two arrows would have the same curve, bend and flex factors."

"Hmm." Sephiroth followed her at a short distance as she rounded the crates, watching as she snagged one of the arrows. "These ones are, to the best of my knowledge." 

"They're practice arrows, which is good. You can tell because of the tip, see? No bladed edges, just a rounded tip that comes to a point." She wiggled the point in his direction, grinning slightly as his eyes tracked it from side to side. "The fletching's also important, but I don't remember enough about it to say why beyond that it helps stabilize the arrow in flight. Or give it spin, if you're crazy. The next step is stance." 

"Do you remember the proper one?" 

"I don't think I ever actually learned it, honestly. I didn't get lessons, just a back yard and some cardboard boxes fifteen feet away. Let's see if I remember any of what I was figuring out that let me hit it." Moving a bit closer to the target, Robin let out a slow breath. She didn't quite know what to with her feet, but she put herself at an angle to the target with them shoulder width apart. Lifting the bow, she tucked the notch against the string and sighted along the grip of the bow. A deep breath, and she pulled the the arrow back slowly. 

The target stood there, three high by three wide and a foot or so off the ground, or such was her guess. Almost twentyish feet away. For a long moment, she simply let herself breathe and feel the tension in her arms, shoulders and stomach. Getting upset or excited hadn't ever helped her in the past, and as she stared at the center of the target she visualized the arrow hitting it. Traced the path she hoped it would take, made sure the arrow wasn't on an odd angle. 

Tilting her head slightly, she felt her grip on the arrow itself starting to slip and narrowed her eyes as she let go. It hit the far left side of the target, and Robin lowered the bow with a quiet laugh. "Well damn. I'm surprised I hit it at all." 

"Try it again." 

"So you can race it this time?" Glancing over, she grinned as he smirked and offered her another arrow. "Alright, fine. Wait, what if I hit -you-?"

"You won't." Pacing around her as she took the arrow, he settled beside her and tilted his head to the side for a moment. "If you do, I will pay the rest of what you owe to Genesis." 

Robin let out a low whistle. "You're going to _pay_ me for failure? Well, I won't look a gift horse in the mouth. So I'm aiming for the bullseye still, technically, right?" 

"Correct. I will run there, and then try and catch the arrow." 

She nodded, before squaring her shoulders and notched the practice arrow. "Are you ready?" 

"Hmm." Sephiroth nodded, getting lower and shifting his stance to prepare for his sprint. She glanced at him, shaking her head and letting out an amused breath before drawing the bowstring back. Taking a deep breath, she narrowed her eyes and fired as the silver-clad swordsman next to her blurred. There was a quiet 'thnk' before he blinked at her, standing in front of the target and glancing down at his hand.

"... Did you catch it?" 

Shaking his head, he uncurled his fingers and watched in amusement as the arrow fell out of where it had just barely punctured his glove at the side of his hand, just under his pinky finger. "This round goes to you." 

"Oh _fuck_ , are you...?" Both hands came up to cover her face in mortification as he chuckled and stooped to collect the ammunition. "I-I have the armlet on, it's still got the cure materia in it. I can... I can heal that." 

"I, am fine. Uninjured." To prove his point, he peeled the glove off and showed her both the hole and where his hand was unharmed. She wheezed and dropped her arms, shoulders slumping until he came over and tapped the fletching against the side of her arm. "Well done. Now, we go to work." 

* * *

The office floor was essentially deserted beyond one lonely Soldier in a cubicle who seemed oblivious to their arrival. She paused as Sephiroth unlocked his office, before grinning and making her way over. 

"Kunsel?" 

"Morning Miss Aicisli." He gave her a brief nod before turning back to his work, and she blinked at the chaotic mass of windows and boxes that opened and closed rapidly. "Sorry, I'm just taking care of some business."

"What's all this?" 

"Standard Turk hacking algorithm. It's going to keep going for another half an hour or so." He shrugged, still typing away as she nodded and backed away. 

"Right. I'll leave you to it. Keep up the good work." Making her way back to where Sephiroth watched with a quirked brow, she shrugged. "What. I wanted to make sure I knew the real one's voice." 

"I understand." Leaving the door open, he tucked his keys away and then started towards his desk. "Please bring the wheeled cart around to the side of my desk."

"Alright." Reaching for the handle, she pulled it backwards into the room and then around to the indicated side, circling back around to one of the chairs as he transferred the folders on the bottom of the cart at the opposite side of his desk to the top of the new one and skimming the topmost off for himself. "So... What do you want me to do?" 

"Admittedly, I had... Forgotten, that much of this would require previous information. Unless you are also aware of the last time specific individuals requisitioned unusual provisions." He glanced at her, smiling faintly as she shook her head. "There should be some blue folders somewhere in this pile. I will get you my ledger. Compare the payments to the last three entries, and inform me if any of them break the established pattern." 

"I... Think I can do that." Moving back to the cart she had pulled in, she started to search it for them as he stood and moved to a filing cabinet. Unlocking it, he pulled out a stack of columnars and set them down on the edge of the desk for her. "Is this like, payroll stuff? Or supplies used." 

"Supplies used and other general invoices such as electricity, fuel, and water. Also, please note that for supplies they are supposed to mark both when the equipment _arrived_ , and when the purchase was _received_." 

"Oof. I'll do my best." Finding one, she dug it out and then checked the dates marked on the outside to the dates written on the black books he had gotten out for her.

"Take your time. It is better to do each once and take ten minutes, than to take one and re-do it nine times." 

* * *

Four utterly mind numbing hours later, and Zack knocked politely on the door frame as people started shuffling in to the rest of the cubicles. He had a large coffee and a large tea on a tray in one hand, and a pair of salads in plastic containers stacked on top of one another balanced on the other. Sephiroth invited him in, and he made his delivery before leaving and closing the door behind him. Robin wrinkled her nose, before heaving a sigh as the Silver General quirked a brow. 

"Why is lunch another 'penalty salad'." 

"Did you look at it?" Pulling the plastic lid free of his own, he tilted it so that she could see the chicken, crumbled bacon and shredded cheese that layered the top of his and then nudged a leaf out of the way to free the smaller container of orange dressing. 

"Wh-?" Snapping her gaze down to hers, she tore the lid off and boggled at it, freeing her own dressing and opening it to take a tentative sniff. "... Cheese... Dressing?" 

Sephiroth nodded his head slightly, already pouring his over his lunch and unwrapping his fork. "Spaghet's salads are... Disappointing. These however, come from the mess hall on the third floor." 

"I don't think I've ever had a salad I've ever actually _liked_ , but is that -bacon-?" Mimicking him, she dumped her dressing onto her salad and started stirring it before abruptly putting the lid on and shaking the entire thing. His quiet sound of amusement was mostly covered by the sound of the chicken bouncing against the lid, and he glanced towards the door a moment before someone knocked once. When he simply looked back down and busied himself with his lunch, she glanced back and then tilted her head when nobody opened the door. 

He caught her look of confusion, and nodded towards the door. "Genesis, reporting in for the morning before heading for his office."

"How'd you know it was him?" 

"The placement of the knock, the force behind it and the number. Genesis, is one. I am two. Angeal is three." Digging out a piece of chicken, he smirked as she mulled it over and let out a low whistle before eating it. 

"You guys have a _knock code_ , that's kind've cool. Does Zack have a number?" 

"Hmm. Not specifically. We all know who it is when he does, however. We can hear him shifting on the linoleum." Looking back down to his salad, he idly moved some of the crumbled bacon around before shaking his head. "You... Don't. Shift, that is. When you stand, your feet are very stationary. Most of your excess movement is in your neck, shoulders and arms."

"Does that... Have meaning, somehow?" Quirking a brow, she slowly lowered her fork as he shook his head once more. 

"No. It was simply something I found interesting." Focusing on his salad, he stabbed as series of leaves and then eyed them. "After I eat, I will make my first announcement. After that, it will be a mix of paperwork and calling individuals into my office to address problems and then issue orders to specific individuals. After that, we should have another hour for paperwork before we leave for the day and return to your practice." 

They finished their food, before Sephiroth used a small mirror to do a cursory check of his teeth. Lacking any little green bits, he pushed himself to his feet and strode to the door to open it and then step out into the central area. The general burble of conversation died down as the dozen Soldiers turned to look at him. Genesis, who's door was still open, poked his head out to watch. 

Once he had everyone's attention, the Silver General took a slow breath and began. 

"Many of you have come to be aware of the presence of a new asset to Soldier. You have heard correctly. She is an unenhanced operative in my employ. I expect all of you to make sure that word is spread among the ranks. Miss Aicisli is under the protection of Soldier for services rendered, including but not limited to information regarding the disappearance of the missing 13th unit, Ragnarok. We are still sorting through the reports she has gathered, but she is an invaluable asset that Administrative Research would like nothing more than to get their hands on." 

Several of the 2nds straightened, turning helmeted heads towards her with renewed interest before focusing on Sephiroth as he continued. "Three 2nds and six 3rds have already been appraised of the situation, however we recently suffered an infiltration by the Turks on the 30th floor. I am certain you can understand how distressing this can be, when she has been housed there under the impression that it would be the safest location to house her for the time being. I should not have to elaborate on what we must do at this point. The war in Wutai continues, but there is a high chance of inter-departmental conflict." 

"All of you, were hand picked for a variety of reasons. I ask you to consider what you are loyal to. The ideal of Soldier, of honour and integrity and protecting those who need it? Or a company that seeks to eventually replace us with a pack of dogs loyal only to a man who would declare our wounded dead to fuel R&D's need for test subjects." Sephiroth scanned his eyes over the 2nd's gathered, nodding as if satisfied with what he saw. "I intend to put together a medical task force of our own. I need competent men with an interest in genetics and those who excel at the use of materia until we can properly establish a proper medical facility of our own. I need both volunteers and suggestions. You have until noon to submit names. I should not have to say this, but due to the sensitive nature of this information, I am also issuing a gag order regarding these topics with relation to anyone outside of Soldier. That is all." 

Turning on his heel, he stepped back into the office and closed the door behind him. Listening for a moment, he let out a slow sigh and then started back to his desk. Sitting down, he picked up the receiver and then began to dial. 

Robin blinked, and then smiled slightly as he leaned back in his chair and nodded at her to indicate she should resume working. 

"Tuesti. You owe me three final favours, I believe." 

She perked up at that, and carefully moved her mostly-empty tea to the side so that she could resume comparing numbers printed on the papers in the latest blue folder with those hand written in the columnar. 

"Yes. That, will not be a problem. No. I simply require enough medical equipment to take care of my Soldiers. I have a renovation in mind for the ninth floor. I believe it is time we gained some independence from R&D." Spinning his chair ever so slightly from side to side, Sephiroth hummed and rested his elbow on the arm. "I am aware. I have some ideas on where I might acquire that information. And if I cannot get it from them, I will walk into Hojo's lab myself and recover the files. Of course. Thank you." 

Hanging up, the Silver General sighed and closed his eyes as he tipped his head against the backrest. "... I do not like the thought of working with Hollander, but if he is as desperate as you say to out do Hojo then he will be a useful beast to collar. Presuming, of course, he remains willing to stick it to his superior with the risk involved."

"Well, I mean the worst Hojo could do is refuse to sign transfer paperwork. It's certainly one way to get a lab tech who's at least passingly familiar with Jenova cells, and he can teach others." 

"It would take years to learn enough to replace him. I have some... Questions." Tilting his head, the silver-haired Soldier frowned faintly. "Soldiers have a shorter lifespan than the average hu-... Individual. Degradation is not an uncommon topic, although most of us do not speak of it. We receive regular mako injections even after we reach 1st, to stall this effect. You have mentioned this... Cloud. How long does he last, after his escape?" 

"Well, I mean he doesn't actually show signs of going grey or dying faster than normal? He goes years without mako treatments after escaping. Even when Deepground finally emerges, he fights them just fine and that's... Five?" She squinted, before nodding. "Five years after Zack gets him to Midgar, I think?" 

"Not enough time to determine any long-term detrimental effects, but perhaps enough time to find alternatives with the resources we have. Enough time to retrain some of the smarter Soldiers-" He paused, looking at the phone on his desk as it rang. A little red light flashed at the corner, and he sighed as he reached for it. "... It is Lazard. Please, wait in Genesis' office for the time being." 

Robin nodded, collecting her backpack and tea and heading for the door as Sephiroth composed himself and answered it with a calm, neutral 'Sir.'. Carefully closing the door as quietly as she could, she turned and blinked as the sounds of Soldiers at work ceased and six Soldiers left in the cubicles all stared at her. 

"Uhh... Don't mind me. Just swapping offices while the General takes a call." 

"So you're Aicisli?" Folding his arms on the top of one of the cubicle walls, one of the Soldiers upnodded at her as she smiled faintly. "Is it true? About our wounded who don't come back." 

"Oookay, I see how this is going to go." Shouldering her pack, she straightened and cleared her throat. "I'm only going to say this once, alright? I've been issued a gag order by the General, so I can't _tell_ anyone anything about that stuff, no matter what. But I _will_ say that you're all bright young men that I'm depending on to keep me safe from _anything_ that might try and make me disappear."

"Are _you_ a Turk?" Another Soldier wheeled himself backwards out of his cubicle and leaned back to peer at her as she laughed. 

"Nooo, no, heh, I mean look at me. You've got to be a certain level of physically fit to be able to ambush people, and I'm _definitely_ not it. It's, ahh... I'm working on it, though. Getting in shape. Anyone have gentle cardio tips that don't equal boot camp for essentially a civilian?" 

"Are mine not good enough?" Genesis leaned against his doorframe, mock pouting as she snorted. 

"I'm half convinced you're the one that told Zack to start trying to startle me to up my spatial awareness." 

"Infinite in mystery is the gift of the goddess." The red-clad swordsman intoned, before beckoning her over to his office. Clapping his hands once, he looked to the slacking Soldiers. "Back to work everyone." 

They scampered back to their stations from where they had started to gather, letting her hustle over to the red-clad swordsman's office as he turned and disappeared into it. Stepping through the doorway, she relaxed until he gestured for her to be quiet and close the door. It was shut with a click before he motioned for her to huddle next to him. Robin was confused for a moment until she realized he had the hook of his phone weighted down with a desk ornament and was shamelessly eavesdropping on the phone call on the line. Sitting on the edge of his desk, she leaned as he held the receiver up between them and shuffled closer so that she could hear as well. 

_"-I understand your concerns Sir. It is not my intent-"_

_"Intent or not, Sephiroth, you are making waves during a critical turning point in the middle of a -war-. When I told you to step carefully yesterday, I didn't mean attempt to annex Soldier from R &D." _

_"Sir, I have undeniable proof that their Deepground unit under reactor zero is not only built from the corpses of our lost, but also those kidnapped from around the world specifically to build a force to replace us and act as the President's personal hit squad. I cannot allow it to continue any longer."_

_"And what, exactly, is your proof? I've been down there. There -is no- underground city."_

_"..."_

_"You have none. You have nothing. Where did you even get such an idea?"_ _The unfamiliar voice on the line sighed, sounding exhausted._

_"... Yesterday. I... Received footage. That such a place does exist."_

_"Then send it to me. Give me this proof."_

_"I cannot risk my source-"_

_"Damnit, Sephiroth! You expect me to take you at your word? A week ago you requested testing to confirm if you were hallucinating or not and then skipped your routine checkups just this weekend."_

_"... I'm not crazy."_

_"That's not-... I didn't say that. I'm saying that you're acting -oddly-."_

_"I will have physical, undeniable proof in three days. But I need those three days to be able to move freely, Sir. The only thing I have ever asked for in the past was the right to choose my own missions. Please."_

_Lazard sighed again, a chair creaking in the background. "... Three days. That's all I can get you. Hojo is already breathing down my neck because you missed your appointment. If you miss another, I won't be able to cover for you."_

_"Thank you, Sir."_

Genesis frowned as the line clicked, staring at Robin before smirking at the quiet sigh that came through the phoneline next.

_"... Genesis. I know you're still there."_

The red-clad swordsman winced, before removing the desk ornament from the lever switch hook. "Are you alright, Seph?"

_"I have been better. Prepare for a sortie within the next twenty four hours. I assume Robin is listening as well."_

"Heeyy..." She waved her fingers at the phone, smiling sheepishly.

_"Remain with the Commander until noon. I will collect you on my way out, as per our original timeline."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Re: archery,  
> I rolled 2d20 and added ten to the latter one for Robin's shot vs Sephiroth's ability to catch it. He lost by one, in 17 to hit vs 6+10 for 16 to catch.


End file.
